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Iflljltiiiiiil 























































7 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

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FIVE HUNDRED STORIES 



BY THE SAME AUTHOR. 

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FIVE HUNDRED STORIES 
AND ILLUSTRATIONS 



ADAPTED TO THE CHRISTIAN YEAR 
FOR THE USE OF CATECHISTS 
TEACHERS AND PREACHERS 



EDITED BY J 

THE REV. WALKER GWYNNE 

AUTHOR OF "manuals OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE," ETC. 



He spake many things unto them /« parables. 



NEW YORK 

JAMES POTT & CO., Publishers 

London : 78 New Bond Street 




1897 

L, 



TWO C9P1ES RECEIVED 
»S^> CI O 




Copyright, 1897, by 
JAMES POTT & CO. 



PREFATORY NOTE. 



This book is intended as a companion to the editor's 
" Manuals of Christian Doctrine/' and " Bible Lessons 
for the Christian Year." While there are many books of 
anecdotes on Christian morality, telling and " tellable " 
illustrations of Christian doctrine are far from abundant. 
The editor feels confident, therefore, that this book needs 
no apology. It is the result of fourteen years of patient 
gathering from every quarter. The editor has lately 
carefully scrutinised two books (one of them by a Church 
clergyman), containing together about three thousand 
illustrations, and found only two for his purpose. Out 
of another collection of over six thousand he succeeded 
in getting only one! 

He will regard it as a great favour if those into whose 
hands this book may come will kindly send him, from 
time to time, any apt illustrations or anecdotes bearing 
on the topics here treated. He will be glad to have them 
for the enlargement of a future edition, if such should be 
called for. 

Except in a few cases no credit has been given for 
authorship, partly because it was impossible to say to 
whom the selections really belonged, and partly because 
in borrowing the editor had to adapt them for his pur- 
pose. He desires, however, to record his special in- 
debtedness to the many excellent books of Mr. Wilmot- 



vi 



PREFATORY NOTE. 



Buxton and Dr. Hardman; to Mr. Jackson's " Mis- 
sioner's Manual," and also to Mr. Lane's popular " Illus- 
trated Notes on English Church History." 

WALKER GWYNNE. 



Calvary Rectory, Summit, N. J., July, 1897. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



I. IN THE ORDER OF THE CHRISTIAN YEAR. 

ADVENT. 

Sundays Page 

1st. — I Believe in Jesus Christ i 

2d. — He shall Come to Judge . . . , . . . 7 

3d. — The Christian Name ........ 12 

4th. — A Member of Christ 17 

CHRISTMASTIDE. 

1st. — Conceived of the Holy Ghost, etc. ..... 23 

2d. — Infant Baptism 29 

EPIPHANY. 

ist. — Children and Inheritors ....... 38 

2d. — The Nature of the Sacraments ...... 44 

{For the remaining Sundays after Epiphany^ see pp. 340-360.) 

PRE-LENT. 

Septuagesima. — Renouncing the Devil 50 

Sexagesima. — " the World . ..... 56 

Quinquagesima. — " the Flesh 65 

LENT. 

1st. — The Christian Resolve and Confirmation .... 72 

2d. — " " " " " (Continued^ . . 78 

3d.— The Christian Faith 82 

4th. — God, the Father Almighty 88 

5th. — Jesus Christ, His Only Son, Our Lord .... 96 

6th, — Suffered, Crucified 103 



viii TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

EASTER. 

Sundays Page 
Easter Day.— The Third Day He Rose . . . . .112 

1st. — The Resurrection of Dead Souls 118 

2d. — " " "the Body 122 

3d. — He Descended into Hell ....... 129 

4th. — He Ascended into Heaven 134 

5th.— And Sitteth on the Right Hand, etc. . . . .138 
After Ascension Day. — I Believe in the Life Everlasting . . 143 
Whitsunday. — I Believe in the Holy Ghost 150 

TRINITY. 

Trinity.— The Holy Trinity 159 

ist. — The First Commandment ....... 164 

2d. — " Second " , . 170 

3d. — " Third " 174 

4th. — " Fourth " 180 

5th.— " Fifth " 186 

6th.— " Sixth " 194 

7th. — " Seventh " 201 

8th.— " Eighth " 206 

9th. — " Ninth and Tenth Commandments . . . 213, 223 

loth. — The Lord's Prayer 227 

nth.— " " " 238 

1 2th. — Our Father, etc. 243 

13th. — Give us this Day, etc, ....... 248 

14th. — Lead us not, etc. 252 

15th, i6th, 17th, and i8th.— I Believe in the Holy Catholic 

Church ......... 257 

19th. — The Holy Catholic Church in England . . . .281 

20th. — The Holy Catholic Church in Ireland, Scotland, the United 

States, etc 299 

20th. — The Holy Catholic Church {Continued). Church Princi- 
ples, etc. ......... 313 

20th. — The Lloly Catholic Church {Continued). Church Extension 

or Missions ......... 319 

2ist. — I Believe in the Communion of Saints .... 331 

22d. — The Forgiveness of Sins ...... 336 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



ix 



Sundays Page 

5th before Advent. — See Second Sunday after Epiphany . . 44 
4th before Advent. — The Outward Sign and the Inward Grace in 

Baptism ......... 340 

3d before Advent. — The Memorial in the Eucharist . . . 343 

2d before Advent. — The Communion in the Eucharist . . . 347 

Next before Advent. — The Benefits, and What is Required . . 355 



II. IN THE ORDER OF THE CHURCH CATE- 
CHISM. 



1st. — The Christian Name ........ 12 

2d. — Members of Christ . .17 

3d. — Children and Inheritors ....... 38 

4th. — Renouncing the Devil ....... 50 

5th.— " the World 56 

6th.— " the Flesh 65 

7th. — The Christian Resolve and Confirmation .... 72 
8th. — " " " " " {Continued) . . 78 

9th. — The Christian Faith 82 

loth.— God, the Father Almighty .88 

iith. — Jesus Christ, His Only Son ...... 96 

I2th. — The Christ or Messiah . i 

13th. — Conceived and Born , . . . . . . .23 

14th. — Suffered, Crucified . 103 

15th. — Dead, Buried, Descended ....... 129 

i6th. — The Third Day He Rose . . . . . . .112 

17th, — He Ascended into Heaven . . . . . . ■ 134 

i8th.— And Sitteth on the Right Hand 138 

T9th. — He shall Come to Judge 7 

20th. — The Holy Ghost 150 

2ist, 22d, 23d, 24th. — The Holy Catholic Church . . . 257 
25th.— The Holy Catholic Church in England . . . .281 

26th. — The Holy Catholic Church in Ireland, Scotland, the United 

States, etc. ......... 299 

26th. — The Holy Catholic <Z\\\xxc\). {Continued). Church Principles 313 
26th. — The Holy Catholic Church {Continued). Church Extension 

or Missions 319 



X TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

Sundays Page 

27th. — The Communion of Saints . . . . • . . 331 

28th. — The Forgiveness of Sins . . . . . . . 336 

29th.— The Resurrection of the Body ...... 122 

30th. — The Life Everlasting ....... 143 

31st. — The Holy Trinity ........ 159 

32d. — First Commandment ........ 164 

33d. — Second " 170 

34th. — Third " . . . . . . . . 174 

35th. — Fourth " 180 

36th.— Fifth " . 186 

37th. — Sixth " ........ 194 

38th. — Seventh " ........ 201 

39th. — Eighth " ........ 206 

40th. — Ninth and Tenth Commandments .... 213, 223 

41st. — The Lord's Prayer . . . . * . . . . 227 

42d. — Prayer .......... 238 

43d. — Our Father, Hallowed, Thy Kingdom, Thy Will . . 243 

44th. — Give us, Forgive us ....... . 248 

45th. — And Lead us not . . . . . . . . 252 

46th. — The Nature of the Sacraments ...... 44 

47th. — Baptism, Outward Sign, etc 340 

48th. — The Resurrection, or New Birth, of Dead Souls . . 118 

49th. — Infant Baptism ......... 29 

50th. — The Memorial in the Eucharist ...... 343 

51st. — The Communion in the Eucharist ..... 347 

5 2d. — The Benefits, and What is Required . . . . .355 



/ 



FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 

THE CHRIST. 

Christ our King. 

When we become the servants of God we engage to be 
so for ever. An aged Bishop who was acquainted, in his 
younger days, with the Apostle S. John, and whose name 
was Polycarp, was brought before the Roman Pro- 
consul, or Magistrate, to be tried for being a Christian. 
He was told to reproach Christ. Raising his grey head, 
and looking steadfastly upon the judge with a grave and 
solemn aspect, he said, Eighty and six years have I 
served Him, and He hath never wronged me, and how 
can I blaspheme my King who has saved me?" Up- 
wards of a hundred years old, he chose rather to be burnt 
to death than deny Christ. 

Christ our Present Helper. 

It was this thought which supported the dead hero for 
whom all England wept. Day after day passed over 
Gordon in his lonely exile far away. Day after day he 
saw the sunrise flash on the white walls and fair palm 
trees of Khartoum, and the sunset redden the desert 
sand. Cut of¥ from home, and comrades, and country- 
men, far from the sound of English voices, and of Eng- 
lish prayers; there is no more lonely figure than that of 
this martyr of duty. Day by day he strained his eyes to 



2 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



see the rescue which never came, and yet in all this lonely 
waiting we cannot believe that the heart of Gordon failed, 
for he could say to his Master, Christ, " I am not alone, I 
will fear no evil, for Thou art with me." 

Always Learning from Christ. 

When the famous artist Michael Angelo was an old man, 
and had risen to the highest point of his fame, he was fre- 
quently seen walking among the ruins of the Colosseum 
at Rome studying the architecture. His friends asked the 
great artist why he did so, and the old man answered, 
" I still go to school that I may continue to learn." 

Christ the Light of the World. 

In the Oriental Church they have a service called the 
" Feast of Lights." It is held at night, because, when 
Christ came the world spiritually was in darkness. The 
whole church is filled with people who come there with 
uniighted tapers in their hands. Each taper signifies 
the human soul without Christ. Some of the clergy rep- 
resent the Twelve Apostles, and as soon as each Apostle 
receives a taper, he lights it from a central taper on the 
altar and communicates the light to another and another 
and another. Soon the whole church is filled with a sea 
of glittering lights, all coming from the central one, and 
yet no man has lost anything by giving to his neighbour. 

Without Christ. 

It is said that an asylum for the blind was once con- 
structed without windows, because the committee saw no 
use in providing light for those who cannot see. The 
consequence was that the patients languished and fell 
sick; but when the committee resolved to open the win- 



FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 



3 



dows the sun's rays poured in, and the health of the in- 
mates was restored. 

The Eye of Christ. 

Charles Simeon kept the picture of Henry Martyn in 
his study. Move where he would through the apartment, 
it seemed to keep its eyes upon him, and ever to say to 
him, Be earnest, be earnest! don't trifle, don't trifle! " 
And the good Simeon would gently bow to the speaking 
picture, and, with a smile, reply, "Yes; I will be in 
earnest; I will, I will be in earnest. I will not trifle, for 
souls are perishing and Jesus is to be glorified." 

Watching for Christ. 

Archbishop Benson's favourite dog, Watch," always 
followed his footsteps in the park and about the house. 
When service went on in the chapel. Watch stretched 
himself on the mat at the open door. On one occasion 
the Archbishop read the second lesson, which ended with 
the words, " What I say unto you, I say unto all, 
Watch!" and the dog immediately started up and 
walked to his master as if he had been called, and lay at 
his feet until the end of the service. Surely we, with our 
greater intelligence, ought to have that quickness to hear 
and to obey when Christ our Master calls us and bids us 
watch for His coming. 

Seeing Christ in His Servants. 

Sister Dora gave up her life to nursing sick people. At 
the head of her bed a bell w^as fixed by which sufferers 
could summon her at any hour of the night. As she 
arose at the sound of the signal, she used to murmur 
these words, as if they were a charm: "The Master is 



4 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



come and is calling for thee." It was as if the sick suf- 
ferer faded away, and in the couch she saw the Face that 
was marred with a world's anguish. Christ's Face across 
her fancy came, and gave the battle to her hands. 

Christ our Deliverer. 

There is a touching story told that at the end of the long 
French war a rough sailor landed near London bridge, 
and meeting a man selling larks in a cage, bought the 
whole lot, and then, opening the door, let the birds fly 
free. The bystanders remonstrated, but he replied with 
a laugh, " If you had, like me, spent six years in a French 
prison, you would learn to feel for caged things ! " 

" One is your Master, even Christ." 

" IcH DiEN," I serve, is the motto of the Prince of Wales, 
the heir to the throne of England. It declares that 
though he is the heir to such honour, his true greatness 
is in serving. We, too, are heirs to a kingdom, soldiers 
of a King, servants of a Master. How can we say that 
the Lord Jesus is our King and Master unless we serve 
Him? " Ich Dien " must be the motto of every soldier 
of Christ, as, indeed, it was that of Christ Himself when 
He said, " I am among you as He that serveth " (S. 
Luke xxii. 27). 

The Everlasting Christ. 

Over the door of the mosque in Damascus, which was 
once a Christian church, but for twelve centuries has 
ranked among the holiest of the Mahometan sanctuaries, 
are inscribed these words: ''Thy kingdom, O Christ! is 
an everlasting kingdom, and Thy dominion endureth 
throughout all generations." Though the Name of 



FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 



5 



Christ has been regularly blasphemed, and the disciples 
of Christ regularly cursed, for twelve hundred years with- 
in it, the inscription has, nevertheless, remained unim- 
paired by time, and undisturbed by man. 

For the Love of Christ. 

Did you ever read how the last fight of gladiators in the 
Colosseum ended? It was when Rome had become 
Christian, but still the cruel sports of the people had not 
been entirely given up. After a famous victory, the Em- 
peror, a feeble boy, and all the great men of Rome, went 
to the crowded theatre to witness the amusements given 
in honour of the triumph. After the harmless sports 
were over, some gladiators entered the arena armed with 
sharp swords. The people shouted with delight because 
the old savage amusements of their heathen days were 
restored to them. Suddenly an old man, named Telema- 
chus, dressed in the habit of a hermit, and unknown to 
all, sprang into the arena, and declared that as Christian 
people they must not suffer men to slay each other thus. 
An angry cry rose from the eager crowd. The gladiators, 
disappointed of their gain, menaced the hermit fiercely, 
crying, Back, old man, for thy life." But the stranger 
stood fearless before that angry mob; he heeded not the 
swords of the gladiators, nor the yells of the people, but 
solemnly protested against the deed of blood. In another 
moment he lay dead on the red sand, pierced by a dozen 
wounds. He died, but his words lived. When the people 
saw the fearless courage of a weak old man, shame filled 
their hearts; the sports were stopped, and never again did 
the gladiators fight in the Colosseum. My brothers, if 
we are learning the love of Christ, we shall be brave to 
do the right, come what may. 



SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 



HE SHALL COME TO JUDGE. 

Need of Watchfulness. 

About a hundred years ago, when the Enghsh and 
French were fighting in North America, both of them 
used wickedly to hire the savage Indian tribes to help 
them in the war. The English army was encamped on a 
certain plain: it was autumn and the nights were long. 
The sentinels were set all around the camp, with their 
watchfires, as usual, to give alarm in case of any attack. 
One morning the sentinel at a particular post was found 
dead, stabbed in the back with an Indian knife. Next 
morning the same thing happened. On the third morn- 
ing also the sentinel was found dead. A young officer 
volunteered to take this post of danger, and in the night 
he saw, as he thought, one of the black hogs common in 
that country, rooting amongst the trees. As he watched, 
it drew closer and closer to him, and at last he fired at it. 
With a wild yell an Indian sprang up and fell dead on the 
spot. He had disguised himself in a hogskin, and so con- 
trived to get behind the unsuspecting sentinels and stab 
them. Now, What I say unto you, I say unto all, 
Watch!" 

" Be ye also Ready." 

It is related of the Count von Moltke that when war was 
declared by France, the great general was seriously in- 



8 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



disposed. On learning the news at an advanced hour in 
the evening", the king had him aroused. " War is de- 
clared," said the messenger. " With whom? " asked the 
general. " With France," was the reply. " The third 
portfolio on the left," was all the count vouchsafed to say, 
and he fell asleep immediately. 

Similitude of the Last Judgment. 

There is a machine in the Bank of England which re- 
ceives sovereigns, as a mill receives grain, for the pur- 
pose of determining wholesale whether they are of full 
weight. As they pass through, the machinery by un- 
erring laws throws all that are light to one side, and all 
that are of full weight to another. That process is a silent 
but solemn parable. Founded as it is upon the laws of 
nature, it afifords the most vivid similitude of the certainty 
which characterises the judgment of the great Day. 
There are no mistakes or partialities to which the light 
may trust; the only hope lies in being of standard weight 
before they go in. 

Daily Duty the Preparation for Judgment. 

An eclipse of the sun happened in New England about a 
century ago. The heavens became very dark, and it 
seemed by many that the Day of Judgment was at hand. 
The Legislature of Connecticut happened then to be in 
session, and on the darkness coming on, a member 
moved the adjournment of the House, on which an old 
legislator, Davenport of Stamford, rose up and said that 
if the last day had come, he desired to be found in his 
place and doing his duty; for which reasons he moved 
that candles should be brought, so that the House might 
proceed with its business. Waiting at the post of Duty 



SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 



9 



was the maxim of this wise man, and he carried his 
motion. 

" If Christ were at hand." 

S. Carlo Borromeo was one day playing at chess, when 
the conversation of the company turned upon the Day 
of Judgment. One of the company asked the rest what 
they should do if it were suddenly announced that Christ 
was at hand. " I should begin to pray," said one; I 
should go to confession," said another. At last they 
asked the Saint what he should do. " / should go on with 
my gome of chess," was his reply, " for I began it to the 
glory of God, and should continue it for the same end." 

Certainty of the End of this World. 

The Word of God holds up before mankind two great 
days — the first day and the last. The first was when He 
spake this earth into form; the last, when it shall be dis- 
solved. The world we inhabit had a birth-day: it will 
have a death-day. As the body we occupy was born, and 
must die; so this planetary body had its cradle, and will 
have its grave. As our frames testify to the presence of 
diseases that can destroy them, so this goodly frame of 
earth testifies to the presence of diseases that could in- 
stantly and easily destroy it. Sir Charles Lyell says, " In 
view of the activity of these elements, the wonder is, not 
that the earth will be dissolved, but that it exists for a 
moment." 

How Christ will Judge. 

There is a quaint legend told of a haughty and wealthy 
prince, who determined to build a noble church, on a 
lofty site, entirely at his own expense. No one was per- 
mitted in any way to share in the work. It was to be 



lo FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 

his own offering and his alone, and in his pride he 
thought that he should have the sole credit of this fine 
structure. It was at length completed, and he was about 
to add his own statue, and had his name written in the 
niche that it was to occupy — but lo, it was found to be 
effaced, and that of a poor widow substituted (by an 
angel's hand it was said)! The widow was summoned 
before the astonished prince, and asked what part or act 
she had taken in the erection of the glorious church. 
Alarmed, she confessed that she had ventured to give a 
few handfuls of hay to the horses that drew the stone up 
the hill-side, because they were working in so good a 
cause. And thus it was showed that while God refused 
and disregarded the offering of pride and self-exaltation. 
He recognised the quiet sympathy and interest showed 
by the poor widow — in accordance with what is written 
— " Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little 
ones a cup of cold water only, in the name of a disciple, 
shall in no wise lose his reward " (S. Matt. x. 42). 

God's Present Judgment. 

A FRIEND, who had been an officer in the army during 
the great civil war between North and South, told me 
that one day when he was lying wounded on the field of 
battle, and suffering terribly from burning thirst, he saw 
another w^ounded soldier of the opposite army lying n'ear 
him and drinking from a canteen. He looked over to- 
ward him and begged him to give him a little of the pre- 
cious water, but instead of granting his request, the man 
raised himself on his elbow and aimed his rifle at my 
friend, prepared to shoot. At that very moment a bullet 
penetrated his own head and he fell back dead. Surely 
God's judgment! 



SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 



II 



The Certainty of Judgment. 

Said Anne of Austria, the Queen of France, to her im- 
placable enemy. Cardinal Richelieu, My lord cardinal, 
there is one fact which you seem entirely to have for- 
gotten. God is a sure paymaster. He m.ay not pay at the 
end of every week, or month, or year; but I charge you, 
remember that He pays in the end." 

The Certainty of Judgment. 

Though the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind 

exceeding small; 
Though with patience He stands waiting, with exactness 

grinds He all. — Longfellow. 



THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 



THE CHRISTIAN NAME. 

Unclaimed Riches. 

There is a story told of an old Indian who lived a mis- 
erable life by begging, and was welcome wherever he was 
known. A kind settler, who knew^ him well, asked him 
what it was that he carried about his neck. He said that 
it was a charm to keep away evil spirits and disease. On 
opening the old leather cover of the charm, the settler 
found a regular discharge for the Indian from the revolu- 
tionary army, and a certificate in the writing of George 
Washington that would entitle him to a pension every 
year, and to many years of back pay. He supposed him- 
self to be a poor, miserable beggar, and here was a for- 
tune for him. So we go on. The promises and engage- 
ments of God's Word are w^orthy of princes. They would 
make of us kings and priests and sons of God. And yet 
we live in pinching spiritual poverty. Let us look up our 
unclaimed possessions, and inherit the promises given us 
in our baptism. 

Christians Worthy of their Name. 

Alexander the Great once saw in his army a strong, 
powerful-looking man, yet when it came to trial he 
proved a very coward. He asked him what was his name. 



THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 



13 



The man answered, '* Alexander." " Nay, then," said 
Alexander, " either deny thy name, or do something 
worthy of it. I will not have a coward of my name." 

Christians Worthy of their Name. 

Wedgwood, the great English pottery maker, had the 
spirit of the true worker. Though risen from the ranks, 
he was never satisfied until he had done his best. He 
looked especially to the quality of his work, to the pur- 
poses it would serve, and to the appreciation of it by oth- 
ers. This was the source of his power and success. He 
would tolerate no inferior work. If it did not come up to 
his idea of what it should be, he would take up his stick, 
break the vessel, and throw it away, saying, This won't 
do for Josiah Wedgwood! " 

The Name Blotted out. 

Among the insane convicts in the Eastern penitentiary is 
a middle-aged man who was literally nameless. He had 
brought on his disease by vicious and intemperate hab- 
its. He had wandered away from all who knew him, had 
lost his memory, and finally been sent to the asylum as a 
pauper. Recently one of the inspectors inquired his 
name. " Well, sir," replied the convict, as he pressed one 
of his hands against his forehead, as if to refresh his mem- 
ory, " You have got the best of me. I did have a name 
once — I think it was Jack — but the fact is I am now too 
miserably poor to have a name. But, sir," and there was 
a look of earnestness in the man's eyes, " I wish you 
would please inquire among those who know me, and if 
you can find out what my name is tell me. It's frightful 
to be without a name." 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



Leading Straight." 

The fact that you have a Christian name should remind 
you of your duty as a Christian. Your example, remem- 
ber, is either leading or misleading. As a baptised boy or 
girl you simply cannot escape doing one or other — which 
shall it be? At the battle of Tel-el-Keber the English 
troops had no sufificient plans of the ground. The Gen- 
eral, therefore, ordered a young naval officer to lead the 
Highland Brigade by the light of the stars to their des- 
tined post. When the fight began the Highlanders were 
ready, and among the first to fall was their young leader. 
The victory was gained, and the General hastened to the 
tent of his wounded officer. The dying man smiled as he 
raised his trembling hand to his commander, and looking 
him in the face, said, " General, didn't I lead them 
straight? " We are always leading our fellow-men by the 
example of our lives; the question is, Are we leading them 
straight f " 

" Calling the Roll." 

A SOLDIER during the great civil war lay dying, and 
his friends heard him say, " Here! " They asked him 
what he wanted, and he put up his hand and said, 
Hush ! they are calling the roll in Heaven, and I 
am answering to my name." Then presently he whis- 
pered, " Here! " and he was gone. Yes, we are soldiers. 
vOur names are written in the book of Christ's great army, 
and some day we must answer to His roll-call. Then the 
question will be what kind of soldiers we were, and 
whether we stood in our ranks to the end, or turned and 
deserted to the enemy. Let us make sure that when 
Christ calls our name, we may answer, " Here, Lord, at 
Thy side!" 



THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 



5 



Remember your Name is Christian. 

Not long ago I saw two soldiers at a railway station — 
one a grey-haired sergeant, the other a young recruit. 
The young man was inclined to be noisy and trouble- 
some, and the elder said to him in a loud whisper, " Don't 
be a fool. Remember you are a Scotsman." I say to 
you take care of your good name. Remember you are 
Christians. 

"The Marks of the Lord Jesus." 

Our Christian name is one of these marks. The cross 
signed on our forehead is another. When Lord Nelson 
was going into his last battle, they wished him to cover, 
or lay aside, the glittering orders of victory which 
adorned his breast. But the hero refused, and perhaps 
his refusal cost him his life. Well, let us never hide the 
marks of our profession as Christian soldiers, even if we 
have to suffer; let men know that we bear about in our 
bodies the marks of the Lord Jesus Christ. 



FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 



MEMBERS OF CHRIST. 

The Branches must be Fruitful. 

The grape-vine is the most perfect of plants. Its stem, 
branches, leaves, and fruit are more elegant than those of 
any other in shape and hue. In a bunch of grapes we 
see the perfection of form and color. The vine combines 
beauty, shade, and fruitfulness. There are two great or- 
ders of plants, the end o gens and the exogens; the former 
are unbranched, as the grass, lily, and palm, — the palm 
stands alone in the desert, graceful but solitary, drinking 
in sunshine and dew for its own selfish use; but the exo- 
gens, like the vine, sending out many branches and re- 
peating itself in numberless miniature copies, converts 
earth, dew, rain, and sunshine into means for the nourish- 
ment and growth of branches and fruit. 

Christ in You." 

There was a great and holy man. called Ignatius, who 
lived, in his younger days, while some of the apostles were 
yet in the world. To indicate his union with Christ, he 
called himself also by another name, Theophorus, which 
signifies, one with whom God is present. When he was 
brought before the emperor to be tried for being a Chris- 
tian, and had told him the name which he had assumed, 
" Pray, who is Theophorus? " asked the emperor. Igna- 

2 



i8 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



tius said, ''He who has Christ in his breast." " Dost thou, 
then," demanded the other, " carry Him who was cruci- 
fied within thee?" " I do," repHed the good old man, 
raising his voice with holy animation, — " I do, for it is 
written, ' I dwell in them and walk in them.' " 

The Responsibility of Christ's Members. 

There is a legend that as S. Macarius wandered among 
those ancient Egyptian tombs, wherein he had made 
himself a dwelHng-place, he found the skull of a mummy, 
and turning it over with his crutch he inquired to whom 
it belonged; and it replied, "To a pagan." ''Where, 
then, is thy soul?" And the head replied, "In hell." 
S. Macarius asked, " How deep? " and the head replied, 
" The depth is greater than the distance from heaven to 
earth." Then S. Macarius asked, " Are there any deeper 
than thou art? " The skull replied, " Yes, the Jews are 
deeper still." And S. Macarius asked, " Are there any 
deeper than the Jews?" To which the head repHed, 
"Yes, in sooth! for the Christians whom Jesus Christ 
hath redeemed, and who show in their actions that they 
despise His doctrine, are deeper still." 

"Noblesse Oblige." 

That is the old motto of the nobility of France. It 
means " Nobility binds," or " obliges "; that is, a noble- 
man must act nobly. How^ true that should be of us 
Christians! Members of Christ must be Christ-like. 

Members of Christ. 

Two gentlemen were discussing the subject of baptism, 
one of whom doubted its value to a child, regarding it 
only in the light of an empty form. " Let us go 



FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 19 



into the garden," said the doctor, " and I will show 
you." He and his friend paused before a tree, and 
the doctor pointed with his stick to a withered 
branch, carefully tied with twine to a round limb. " I 
used to believe that in baptism a child was dedicated to 
God: that is, that he was fastened on to the Church, but 
with no present spiritual influence. If such be the true 
doctrine, there is an illustration of the result. Now see 
here," he continued, pointing to another limb, " the 
Prayer-book taught me that in baptism the child is not 
tied on, but grafted in by the Holy Spirit. See that little 
twig. I put it there, and the life-giving Lord has made 
it a part of the tree." 

Not much of a Christian. 

When a boy was once asked if his father was a Christian, 
he answered, " Yes, he is a Christian, but he is not work- 
ing much at it just now." How true that is of many who 
have been made members of Christ in holy baptism — 
branches of a very fruitful vine, but withered branches ! 

" Ye are the Light of the World." 

An English clergyman relates the following incident: 
" During a voyage to India I sat one dark evening in my 
cabin feeling thoroughly unwell, as the sea was rising 
fast and I was but a poor sailor. Suddenly the cry of 
* Man overboard! ' made me spring to my feet. I heard a 
trampling overhead, but resolved not to go on deck, lest 
I should interfere with the crew in their efforts to save the 
poor man. ' What can I do? ' I asked myself, and in- 
stantly unhooking my lamp, I held it near the top of my 
cabin and close to my bull's-eye window, that its light 
might shine on the sea, and as near the ship as possible. 



20 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



In a half minute's time I heard the joyful cry ' It's all 
right; he's safe,' upon which I put my lamp in its place. 
The next day, however, I was told that my little lamp 
was the sole means of saving the man's life. It was only 
by the timely light which shone upon him that the 
knotted rope could be thrown so as to reach him. ' Let 
your light so shine.' " 

" Ye are not your Own." 

One day a poor pit-man in the Black Country, or coal re- 
gion, of England, was brought to the hospital with his 
right arm shattered. The doctors said it must be cut off, 
but Sister Dora, who had charge of the nurses, felt sure 
that with good care the arm might be saved. She per- 
suaded the doctors to spare it, and after a long time and 
good nursing the shattered arm grew well. Soon after 
Sister Dora herself became very ill, and every day the 
grateful pit-man walked miles after his weary work to 
inquire for his friend. And this was always the message 
that he left at the door: " Tell Sister Dora that her arm 
knocked at the gate to inquire for her." Let us remem- 
ber that both our souls and bodies belong to the Lord 
Jesus. He has redeemed them, and they are His mem- 
bers. 

"The Best." 

Members of Christ can have no lower standard of con- 
duct than their Divine Head — Christ Himself. They 
must aim at " the best." An American hammer maker 
was once asked whether, after twenty years' practice, he 
did not make a pretty good hammer. " No," he replied, 
" I never make a pretty good hammer; I make the best 
hammer in the United States." Nothing lower than 
the best " must satisfy us. 



FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 



21 



Not Ashamed of being Christians. 

What would the Queen think of her soldiers, if they 
should swear they were loyal and true, and were to say, 
Your Majesty, we prefer not to wear these regimentals : 
let us wear the dress of civilians! We are right honest 
men and upright, but do not care to stand in your ranks, 
acknowledged as your soldiers: we had rather slink into 
the enemy's camp, and into your camps too, and not 
wear anything that would mark us as being your sol- 
diers." Ah! some of you do the same with Christ. You 
are going to be secret Christians, are you, and slink into 
the Devil's camp, and into Christ's camp, but acknowl- 
edged by none? 

Power of Christian Example. 

When native converts on the Island of Madagascar pre- 
sented themselves for baptism, it was often asked of them, 
" What first led you to think of becoming Christians? 
Was it a particular sermon or address, or the reading 
of God's Word? " The answer usually was, that the 
changed conduct of others who had become Christians 
was what first arrested their attention. " I knew this man 
to be a thief ; that one was a drunkard; another was very 
cruel and unkind to his family. Now they are all 
changed. The thief is an honest man, the drunkard is 
sober and respectable, and the other is gentle and kind in 
his home. There must be something in a religion that 
can work such changes." 

Christians " the Light of the World." 



So said our Lord, and it v\^as perhaps in derision of His 
words that the Emperor Nero covered the Christians of 



22 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



Rome all over with pitch and then set them on fire as 
torches to give light to the city. His very act, however, 
only made Christ's words more true, for these martyrs 
have lighted the world ever since by their faith and suffer- 
ings for Christ. 



FIRST SUNDAY IN CHRISTMAS- 
TIDE. 



CONCEIVED AND BORN, ETC. 

The Foundation of Humility. 

" Do you wish to be great? " asks S. Augustine. Then 
begin by being little. Do you desire to construct a vast 
and lofty fabric? Think first about the foundations of hu- 
mility. The higher your structure is to be the deeper 
must be its foundation." Who so great as Christ? Yet 
who so humble? 

Humility a Sign of Worth. 

A FARMER went with his son into a wheat-field to see if it 
was ready for the harvest. " See, father," exclaimed the 
boy, ''how straight these stems hold up their heads! 
They must be the best ones. Those that hang their heads 
down I am sure cannot be good for much." The farmer 
plucked a stalk of each kind, and said, " See here, foolish 
child! This stalk that stood so straight is light-headed, 
and almost good for nothing, while this that hung its 
head so modestly is full of the most beautiful grain." 

The Mark of a True Gentleman. 



At Plymouth there is a narrow ledge of rock, only wide 
enough for the small feet of a goat to walk upon. On 



24 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



each side there is a deep chasm. On this ledge it hap- 
pened that two goats met. There was no room for them 
to pass each other, or to turn round. The one that did so 
must fall and be dashed to pieces on the rocks below. 
The goats felt their danger, and made loud cries of dis- 
tress. Many people heard them, but none could give the 
least help. The goats stood face to face for a long time; 
at last one was seen to kneel and crouch down as close 
as it could he upon the ground, and the other walked over 
him, and so both were saved. About this story Cecil 
truly says, " The goat who lay down that the other might 
pass over him was a finer gentleman than Lord Chester- 
field." 

Imitation of Christ its own Reward. 

King Wenceslas, of Bohemia, looked forth from his 
castle window one night at Christmastide, and saw a 
poor man gathering sticks a league away. Calling to his 
page to bring provisions, he took a bundle of wood on his 
shoulder, and went forth to the poor man through the 
snow, the page following behind. And as they went, the 
page's heart failed him. " Sire," he said, " let us return; 
the wind freezes my very blood. I can go no further." 
"Seems it so much?" asked the king. Was not His 
journey from heaven a wearier and a colder way than 
this? " The page made no reply. Follow me on still," 
said his master; only tread in my footsteps, and you will 
proceed more easily." The servant knew that his master 
spoke not at random. He set his feet in the prints of his 
lord's feet, and as he trod those steps gained life and heat. 
He felt not the wund; he heeded not the frost. The foot- 
prints glowed as w^ith a holy fire; and zealously he fol- 
lowed his king on his errand of mercy. — Ancient Legend. 



FIRST SUNDAY IN CHRISTMAS TIDE. 



25 



Christ Present to us in His Poor. 

Some pleasing incidents are associated with Falk's early 
career. One evening at supper-table, a little boy had 
said the pious grace, " Come, Lord Jesus, be our Guest, 
and bless what Thou hast provided "; when a little fellow 
looked up and said, " Do tell me w^hy the Lord Jesus 
never comes. We ask Him every day to sit with us, and 
, He never comes! " " Dear children, only wait, and you 
may be sure He will come, for He does not despise our 
invitation." " I shall set Him a seat," said the little fel- 
low; and just then there was a knock at the door. A poor 
half-frozen boy entered, begging a night's lodging. He 
was made welcome. The chair stood empty for him. 
Every child wanted him to have his plate, and one was 
lamenting that his bed was too small for the stranger. 
The little one, who had been thinking hard all the time, 
said, Jesus could not come, and so He sent this poor hoy 
in His place.'' 

" He Humbled Himself." 

In the little Dutch village of Saardam, there is a poor, 
low, one-storied wooden cottage, which is, however, very 
carefully preserved from weather and decay by an ele- 
vated roof, supported on pillars. It is thus protected on 
account of its very interesting history. In this lowly 
cabin once dwelt the famous Czar Peter, Emperor of 
Russia. Eor a space of time he left his dominions, and, 
disguised, sought the great maritime States of Holland 
and England. He desired to make Russia a great power 
in Europe, and, as a part of this scheme, to supply his 
country with a navy. He was determined to know and 
understand the whole matter for himself, and used to 
work with his own hands. It was in gaining a practical 

I 



26 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



knowledge of shipbuilding, in the dockyards of Holland, 
that he was content to live for a time in this poor cottage, 
and to lay aside all the pomp, splendour, and implicit 
obedience of a court, or a camp, to which he had been 
accustomed. This is some slight illustration of the King 
of Heaven stooping to the cradle of Bethlehem, and the 
workshop of Nazareth. 

Christ the Leader. 

When Alexander the Great marched through Persia, his 
way was stopped with ice and snow. His soldiers became 
tired out with hard marching, and, being discouraged, 
would have gone no farther; but he, perceiving it, dis- 
mounted from his horse, and made his way through the 
ice in the midst of them all with a pickaxe. They were 
all ashamed; and his friends, the captains of the army, 
and, lastly, the common soldiers, followed him. So 
should all men follow Christ by that rough and unpleas- 
ant way of the Cross; He having left them an example, 
they are to follow in His steps. 

Christ the Ladder. 

To the north of Scotland lies an island called Bressay. 
It is one of the Shetland Islands, and its shores are very 
rocky. On the south coast of Bressay is a slate-quarry. 
The workmen had to descend the clif¥ to it by means of a 
ladder. C^ne evening a violent and sudden storm drove 
the quarry-men from their work. The ladder was left 
fastened to the clif¥. The night was very dark and 
stormy. A ship which was struggling with the waves was 
driven close to the island. Her crew beheld with terror 
the white foam of the breakers as they dashed against the 



FIRST SUNDAY IN CHRISTMAS TIDE. 



27 



rocks. They knew that if the ship were stranded they 
must be wrecked. Still the howling winds drove her for- 
ward. The waves dashed over her, filled the cabin with 
water, and drowned the wife of the captain. The sailors 
now climbed into the rigging. They were at the mercy 
of the furious wind and of the raging sea. They gave 
themselves up for lost. Many prayers and cries for de- 
liverance w^re uttered. On came the ship, and struck 
against the shore. The poor seamen felt that death was 
almost certain. On the summit of the clif¥ was safety, 
but how could they reach it who were helplessly dashed 
at its foot? Just as the ship struck near the rock their 
terror was changed to joy. Close beside them, on the 
steep face of the cliff, was a ladder. It seemed as if placed 
there on purpose for them. In haste they sprang from 
the rigging, mounted the ladder, and reached the top of 
the cliff in safety. The vessel went to pieces so quickly 
that by the next morning hardly a trace of her was left. 



SECOND SUNDAY IN CHRISTMAS- 
TIDE. 

INFANT BAPTISM. 

The True Soldier. 

It is said that some years ago, when excavations were 
being made at Pompeii, there was found the skeleton of 
a Roman sentinel on guard. Where he had been placed 
there he stood and died, during the burial of the city by 
the ashes of \"esuvius, some eighteen hundred years ago. 
This was the true soldier. While others fled, he stood to 
his post. It was his duty. Pie had been set to guard the 
place, and he never flinched. He was suffocated by the 
sulphurous vapour of the falling ashes. His body was re- 
solved to dust, but his memory survives. Hi? helmet, 
lance, and breastplate are still to be seen at the Museo 
Borbonico at Naples. This soldier was obedient and dis- 
ciplined. He did what he was appointed to do. 

Good Soldiers. 

We read that of twelve thousand three hundred soldiers 
slain in a certain battle, only two were found wounded 
in the back. Standing in the ranks, they fell fighting, 
with the exception of these two cravens, whose valour 
was not sufficient to prevent their retreating in the fight. 



30 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



How much more noble the end of the brave, unshrinking 
patriots than that of the cravens to their country! Of 
those who fall in the battles of the Lord, how many are 
there who fall as deserters from the ranks! They do not 
stand the day of persecution and fall nobly in the fray. 
They shrink from the contest in the hope of escaping 
from the rigours of the war; but they find their fall is as 
disastrous and their death as certain, without any of the 
glory which their comrades share. To turn back in the 
day of battle is no mark of a true soldier of the Cross. 

" He is a Soldier." 

My attention was attracted by these words, as, waiting for 
the arrival of my own train, I watched a third-class car- 
riage and its passengers just ready to start from London. 
The above remark, He has been a soldier — by his 
walk," was a reference to an erect, firm-treading man who 
had alighted from the train, and had evidently been an 
object of intense interest to his fellow passengers. " Aye, 
and he has been a soldier — by the way he carries his 
pack," said another. " Aye, and by his politeness," ob- 
served a third. " Did you see how he touched his cap, 
only because you gentlemen looked at him? Most of us 
would have said, * What are you staring at? ' " The train 
started off, the man left the station, and I followed him. 
" Did you hear the remarks of your fellow travellers, my 
friend? " He smiled as I repeated them, and said, " Just 
as it should be, sir — just as it should be. A soldier in 
plain clothes should be the same as a soldier in uniform. 
A true soldier ought to walk so as to be known as such 
wherever he is." He gave me a military salute, and we 
separated. He left me full of serious thoughts, that came 
to me in the form of the following questions : Is my con- 



SECOND SUNDAY IN CHRISTMAS TIDE. 31 



duct such as to elicit from all with whom I associate, the 
remark, ''He is a soldier"? As a soldier of the Lord 
Jesus, I have a character to sustain. Do I sustain it, 
even in the small kindnesses and courtesies of life, so as 
to make the remark of me true, He must also be a sol- 
dier, by the way he behaves toward all " ? 

No Surrender. 

Towards the sunset of the long bloody day of Waterloo, 
when the surviving remnant of the old Imperial Guard 
were summoned to lay down their arms, the scarred vet- 
erans of fifty victorious fights cried out, " The Guards can 
die, but they cannot surrender! " So the story, false or 
not. Thus the Christian soldier should stand by hivS 
Lord, and his language be " No surrender! " 

Perseverance in the Christian Soldier. 

Once in the midst of battle, an officer rode up to Sir 
Charles Napier and said, " Sir Charles, we have taken a 
standard." The general made no reply, but continued 
talking to one of his staff. " Sir Charles," repeated the 
officer, " we have taken a standard." Then take an- 
other," was the brief answer. It is perseverance day after 
day, and not mere enthusiasm, that wins the fight. 

" Faithful unto Death." 

There is a story of an Austrian standard-bearer, in one 
of those battles in Bohemia fought in 1866 between the 
Austrians and the Prussians, which deserves to be re- 
membered, not only for itself, but also as an example to 
those who are standard-bearers in the army of the Cross. 



32 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



In the fierce fight of Trautenau, the advancing Prussians 
came upon a ditch half filled with dead and wounded 
Austrians. Among the latter was a young officer, evi- 
dently badly wounded. He was lying on his back in the 
wet ditch. Moved with compassion, the Prussians were 
about to remove the wounded man, that his case might 
be attended to by the surgeon, when he entreated to be 
allowed to lie where he was, as he felt quite cool and com- 
fortable. Pie expired shortly after. When the dead body 
was removed, it was found that even in death it had 
served to protect the bit of rag " which, in the morning 
of that bloody day, had been the standard of the regi- 
ment. He had carefully folded it up, and then lain down 
upon it to die! His noble foes forbore to take away the 
trophy; they wrapped it round him, and left him to take 
his rest upon it. The Prussian general who told this 
story told it with his head uncovered. Is not the soldier 
sworn, on his enlistment, to be true to his colours, and to 
bear himself like a m.an in the day of battle? And is not 
he who enlists in Christ's service bound in an equal de- 
gree to serve Him valiantly and unflinchingly to the end? 
Is he not pledged in the same way manfully to fight 
under Christ's banner against sin, the world, and the 
devil ? 

Soldiers of Christ. 

When the steamer Birkenhead, with a regiment of sol- 
diers on board, struck upon a rock on the coast of Af- 
rica, it was thought from the moment of the first rasp and 
shock that it could not keep together many minutes, 
and orders were given to fit the emergency. The roll of 
the drum called the soldiers to arms on the upper deck. 
It was promptly obeyed by all, though each one knew 
that it was his death summons. There they stood, drawn 



SECOND SUNDAY IN CHRISTMAS TIDE. 33 



up in battle array, looking on while the boats were gotten 
out, first for the women and children, next for the other 
passengers — no boats left for them! There they stood, 
firm and calm, waiting a watery grave. . . . The 
boats pulled off in safety, but on that solemn deck the 
soldiers still kept their ranks, motionless and silent. Then 
down went the ship, and down with it went the heroes, 
shoulder to shoulder, firing a parting volley, and then 
sinking beneath the remorseless waters — type of spirit- 
ual soldiers doing their King's commands, and being 
" faithful unto death." 

" A Little Child shall Lead them." 

We never know just what seemingly small thing may 
change our plans and turn our path into new channels. 
The Rev. Dr. Milnor was brought up a Quaker. Early 
in life he became a distinguished lawyer in Philadelphia, 
and was a INIember of Congress for three successive 
terms. Returning to his home on a visit during his last 
congressional term, his little daughter rushed upon him 
exclaiming: " Papa! papa! Do you know I can read? " 

No," said the father; let me hear you." The little girl 
opened her Bible and read slowly, " Thou shalt love the 
Lord thy God with all thy heart." It was an arrow to 
her father's heart. For some reason coming from the 
lips of his own child it seemed a solemn admonition. He 
could not cast from him the new thoughts awakened. 
He turned to Christ as to a friend, and drank in of His 
love as one long athirst. Although forty years of age, he 
abandoned politics and law for the ministry, and for 
thirty years he was the beloved rector of S. George's 
Church in Philadelphia, the predecessor of the venerated 
Dr. Tyng. 
3 



34 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



Pledged to Eternal Warfare. 

The boy Hannibal, afterwards the great general of the 
Carthaginians, was led when quite young to the heathen 
altar to swear eternal warfare against the Romans. We 
have a nobler warfare, and we too have been pledged to it 
from earliest childhood at the font. 

No Retreat. 

Once an English drummer boy was taken prisoner by 
the French. They amused themselves by making the lad 
play on his instrument, and one of them asked him to 
play the retreat. The drummer answered proudly that 
he had never learnt how to do that! 

The Importance of Early Training. 

There was an abbot who desired a piece of ground that 
lay conveniently for him. The owner refused to sell it, 
yet, with much persuasion, was contented to let it. The 
abbot hired it for his rent, and covenanted only to farm 
it with one crop. He had his bargain, and sowed it with 
acorns, — a crop that lasted three hundred years. Thus 
Satan begs but for the first crop. Let him sow thy youth 
with acorns: they will grow up with thy years to sturdy 
oaks, so big and deep-rooted that they shall last all thy 
life. 

" Except ye become as Little Children.'* 

Once upon a time a great king built a beautiful city, with 
glittering palaces and noble streets and gardens. When 
the city was finished the king invited all his subjects to 
enter in, but when they came they found the gates so low 
and narrow that they could not pass through them. One 



SECOND SUNDAY IN CHRISTMAS TIDE. 35 



had too much fine clothes, another too much luggage, 
and another carried his head too high. But while the 
great men and women were thus kept outside, the little 
children ran in quite easily. At last they asked a wise old 
man what they must do, and he told them they must be- 
come as little children before they could enter the city. 
Some were very angry at this and went away, but others 
who were wiser cast away their useless burdens and orna- 
ments, and bent down to the ground and so entered. 
That city is a picture of God's Kingdom in Heaven. The 
gate into the Kingdom is Holy Baptism. And it is only 
little children and those who become like little children 
who are fit to enter it. 

The Benefit of Early Training. 

The battle of Waterloo was one of the most important 
battles ever fought, because it put an end to the evil 
power of Napoleon. The " Iron Duke," as he was called, 
the great Duke of Wellington, was the commander of the 
English who won the victory, and when he was old he 
visited Eton College, where he had gone to school as a 
boy, and made an address to the scholars. Among the 
last words he had to say to them were these, My young 
friends, I want you always to remember this, that the bat- 
tle of Waterloo was won at Eton." 

Never too Young to Begin. 

Thelwall thought it very unfair to influence a child's 
mind by inculcating any opinions before it should come 
to years of discretion, so as to be able to choose for itself. 
In reply to this absurd notion, Coleridge says, " I showed 
him my garden, and told him it was my botanical gar- 
den." " How so? " said he; it is covered with weeds." 



36 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



" Oh! " I replied, " that is because it has not yet come to 
its age of discretion and choice. The weeds, you see, 
have taken the Hberty to grow; and I thought it unfair in 
me to prejudice the soil towards roses and strawberries." 

Not too Young to Die. 

A YOUNG prince, whose mind had learned in some de- 
gree to value religious truth, asked his tutor to give him 
suitable, instruction, that he might be prepared for death. 
" Plenty of time for that when you are older," was the 
reply. "No!" said the prince, "I have been to the 
churchyard and measured the graves ; and there are many 
shorter than I am." 

Unbaptised Children. 

The Rev. James Richmond, a brilliant but eccentric 
priest of the American Church, was once preaching in a 
new town in the far West. As usual, a very large propor- 
tion of the children in this new settlement were not bap- 
tised, and Mr. Richmond was preaching about the neces- 
sity of baptism. Suddenly he paused in his sermon and 
said that he was sometimes asked what would become of 
children who died unbaptised. Standing in that pulpit, he 
said, and clothed with the Church's authority, he was not 
permitted to pronounce any judgment on the subject. 
And then, throwing aside his surplice and stole, and walk- 
ing down into the middle of the church, he said now he 
could speak as James Richmond alone, and he would 
give them his own answer to that question about unbap- 
tised children. " I beHeve," he added, the children will 
be saved, but I have the gravest fears for the salvation of 
those cruel-hearted parents who allow them to die un- 
baptised." 



FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 



CHILDREN AND INHERITORS. 

Faith in his Commander's Promise. 

It is related that one day, when Napoleon I. was review- 
ing his troops in Paris, he let fall the reins of his horse 
from his hands upon the animal's neck, when the proud 
charger galloped away. Before the rider could recover 
the bridle, a common soldier ran out from the ranks, 
caught the reins, stopped the horse, and placed the bridle 
again in the hands of the Emperor. " Much obliged to 
you, captain," said Napoleon. The man immediately be- 
lieved his chief, and said, Of what regiment, Sire? " Na- 
poleon, delighted with his quick perception and ready 
trust in his word, replied, Of my Guards!" and rode 
away. As soon as the Emperor left, the man laid down 
his gun, saying, ''He may take it who will"; and, in- 
stead of returning to the ranks whence he so suddenly is- 
sued, he started for the company of staff officers. And so 
the soldier came duly to his post as a captain of Napo- 
leon's Guard. Should not we trust oitr Commander 
when He tells us we are inheritors of His kingdom? 

God's Children Lights. 

" Among whom ye shine as lights in the world " (Phil. ii. 
15). The image here is not improbably taken from light- 



FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 39 



houses on a seacoast. As those lighthouses are placed on 
a dangerous coast to apprise vessels of their peril and to 
save them from shipwreck, so the light of Christian piety 
shines on a dark world, and on the dangers of the voyage 
which we are making. 

Reality in God's Children. 

While standing at the wharf of a quiet harbour, look- 
ing at the shipping which lay at anchor, we heard a lady 
say to a friend, That nicely painted ship I should choose 
for a sail across the sea." He replied, I would not. I 
prefer the dark old vessel near it. That handsome ship 
is unsafe, her timbers are rotten. She has been newly 
painted." There are painted ships on all seas. Upon the 
waters of life they are gaily sailing to eternity with an in- 
ward decay which will yield to the storm that awaits 
every mortal mariner. 

Our Heavenly Father's Sympathy. 

A CHILD had to undergo a painful operation, and his 
friends feared to tell him of it. But the child turned to 
his father and said, Let me hold your hand, papa, and I 
can go through with it." 

Inheritors of Heaven. 

The speech of Basil was noble, when the prefect threat- 
ened confiscation, torment, and banishment. Basil an- 
swered, " He need not fear confiscation that hath 
nothing to lose; nor banishment, to whom heaven only 
is his country; nor torment, when his body would be 
crushed with one blow; nor death, which is the only way 
to set him^ at liberty." 



40 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



The Power of God's Children. 

A MAN once said, " I have no more influence than a far- 
thing rushUght." "Weh," was the reply," a farthing rush- 
h'ght can do a good deal: it can set a haystack on fire; it 
can burn down a house; yea, more, it will enable a poor 
creature to read a chapter in God's book. Go your way, 
friend: let your farthing rushlight so shine 'before men, 
that others, seeing your good works, may glorify your 
Father which is in heaven." 

God's Children Beacon Lights. 

The keeper of the lighthouse at Calais was boasting of 
the brightness of his lantern, which can be seen ten 
leagues at sea, when a visitor said to him, What if one 
of the lights would chance to go out?" " Never, — im- 
possible! " he cried, horrified at the bare thought. " Sir," 
said he, pointing to the ocean, yonder, where nothing 
can be seen, there are ships going by to all parts of the 
world. If to-night one of my burners went out, within 
six months would come a letter, perhaps from India, per- 
haps from America, perhaps from some place I never 
heard of, saying, such a night, at such an hour, the light 
of Calais burned dim, the watchman neglected his post, 
and vessels were in danger. Ah, sir! sometimes in the 
dark nights in stormy weather, I look out to sea, and feel 
as if the eyes of the whole world were looking at my light. 
Go out? — burn dim? — never! " 

Each Child of God has his Work. 

In an English dockyard a great ship was to be launched. 
An immense multitude assembled to see it glide down the 



FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 



41 



slides that were to carn^ it into the water. The blocks 
and wedges were knocked away; but the massive hull did 
not stir. Just then a little boy ran forward and began to 
push the ship with all his might. The crowd broke out 
into a laugh of ridicule; but it so happened that the ves- 
sel was just ready to move; only the few pounds pushed 
by the lad were needed to start it; and away it went into 
the water. 

Children of a King. 

One day when the Princess Victoria was a little child, 
she found out for the first time, and quite accidentally, 
from her book of English history, that she herself was 
the next heir to the throne of England. She ran to her 
governess and asked her if it were really true that she 
would be the next queen, and when the governess told 
her that this was the case, the little Princess looked very 
sober and said very earnestly, Then I will be good." 
We, too, are sons and daughters of a King, heirs of " a 
crown that fadeth not away," inheritors of a kingdom 
far more enduring and more glorious than that of Eng- 
land. Let us also remember, Tis only noble to be 
good." 

A Citizen of Christ's Kingdom. 

In one of Cicero's fine orations he eloquently describes 
how it was the pride of the Roman people to be able to 
say, " Civis Romanus sum," I am a Roman citizen," 
and that whenever they met with ill-treatment or oppres- 
sion they fell back on this proud position, that they were 
Roman citizens, and that all the force and power of that 
mighty empire would be summoned to avenge their 
wrongs. How much higher and nobler is the position of 
the baptised member of Christ's kingdom! 



42 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



" Inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven.'* 

The good King of Prussia was once visiting a school 
when he asked the children to what kingdoms, as they 
are called, different objects belonged. There was the 
mineral kingdom, to which all iron and stone belong, and 
the vegetable kingdom, in which all plants and flowers 
and trees are placed, and, again, the animal kingdom, to 
which all living beings and beasts belong. At last the 
king asked, Now, to which kingdom do I belong? " 
meaning, of course, the animal kingdom. But none of 
the children liked to class their good king with the ani- 
mals, so all were silent until one little boy spoke up and 
said, " You belong, your majesty, to the Kingdom of 
Heaven." The king was very much surprised at this 
unexpected answer, but he was very much pleased, too, 
and he told the boy he would remember that answer all 
his life long and try always to live as an inheritor of 
God's Kingdom. 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTER 
EPIPHANY. 



THE NATURE OF THE SACRAMENTS. 

The Hidden Life of Sacraments. 

TravelleRvS in the East relate that the palm-tree may be 
fotmd standing by itself in the sandy desert, and towering 
to a vast height in the deep blue sky, while all around is 
a scene of utter desolation. What is the reason of this? 
A spring of water is beneath; and it is a well-known fact 
that water may always be found by digging at the root 
of a palm. The towering top, the verdant leaves, the re- 
freshing fruit, could not exist if the tree did not draw life 
and nourishment from the unseen spring. 

" The Fountain of Life." 

An artist once painted a famous picture for an altar-piece, 
and called it the Fountain of Life. It represents the sac- 
rificed Redeemer stretched in His mother's arms. From 
the rock beneath their feet flow the abundant waters of 
salvation, which are received into a great cistern. Saints, 
martyrs, apostles, evangelists are drinking of the water, 
or filling their vases and handing them to each other. 
From the cistern flows a stream into a lower place, where 
a family of poor, humble people are drinking with grate- 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 45 

fill looks. Then the stream flows away among meadows 
where the little children can reach it, and they are taking 
up the precious water in their tiny hands, and drinking it 
with smiling lips. We can all see the meaning of that 
picture, which tells us that the salvation of Jesus is for all 
who will accept it, high and low, young and old, rich and 
poor. There is but one " Fountain of Life," Jesus Christ 
Himself, and the streams that flow from that Fountain 
are the holy sacraments which He Himself has appointed 
to enable us to drink of Him. 

The Mystery of the Sacraments. 

There was once a poor, hard-working woman who was 
a regular communicant, and who had to suffer much in- 
sult and ridicule from godless neighbours. One day they 
asked her if she understood the mystery of the Sacra- 
ment, or if she really knew that it did her any good. And 
her answer was that she did not pretend to understand so 
great a mystery. But," she added, " I know what good 
I get from it. I go up empty, and I come down full." 

The Sacraments God's Medicines. 

There was a poor man who, while travelling by himself 
in the forests of South America, where there are poison- 
ous swamps and unhealthy lakes and sickly air, fell ill of 
the ague. There he lay in a hut, day after day, not able to 
move, and quenching his thirst with the waters of a pool 
that was close at hand. At last this pool dried up, and 
then he thought indeed that his misery was full. He had 
to crawl half a mile to another pool, almost ready all the 
while to die of weariness. When he came to it, the water 
was so bitter that he could scarcely drink it. Yet he 



46 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES, 



must drink it, or die of thirst. He did drink. That after- 
noon he could not think why he feh stronger than he had 
done for many weeks. The next day he crawled down to 
the bitter pool again, and drank more abundantly; and 
still the more he drank the stronger he grew, till he was 
restored to his health. Then he found that a tre had 
fallen into the water, which gave it its bitterness, and gave 
it also its power of cure. And this was the way in which 
the medicine we call quinine was discovered — one of 
God's greatest gifts to the bodies of men, — which has 
saved thousands and thousands of lives which must oth- 
erwise have perished. Such are the sacraments, God's 
medicines. To outward eyes only some ordinary water 
or some ordinary bread and wine, but made grace-giving 
and strengthening by the power of Christ's Cross, the 
true Tree of Life. 



Sacraments " in the World, but not of it." 

Far out at sea, along both the Gulf and Atlantic coasts 
of Florida, are several springs of fresh water. They are 
well known to the spongers and fishermen, who fre- 
quently visit them to replenish their water casks. On this 
same coast is an oil spring, which diffuses a calm over 
troubled waters and affords a safe refuge to small vessels 
during a gale. So are the sacraments in the midst of an 
evil world. 



"Without Money and without Price/* 

The sacraments are God's perpetual witness to us that 
salvation is not something that we can win for ourselves, 
but is God's free gift to us, something which nothing that 
we can do could ever pay for. In the hot streets of Cairo 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 47 



m Egypt, where water is very scarce, the water-seller 
goes about with a bulging skin full of water on his back 
and a brass cup in his hand, crying, The gift of God, the 
gift of God. Who will buy the gift of God? " He calls 
men to come and buy God's gift of water. But the Lord 
Jesus says, " Come, buy wine and milk without money 
and without price." God does not sell, but gives. That 
is a truth that the sacraments never let us forget. For 
it is through them that God saves us. We simply cannot 
save ourselves. 

Sacraments, like Medicines, must be Used. 

If the doctor were to give you some healing lotion when 
you were burned or wounded, and you were to say that 
you fully trusted in the doctor and his medicine, but yet 
did not use it, how foolish that would be! It is not 
enough to believe in the medicine. You must apply it. 
When the destroying angel passed over the houses of the 
Israelites in Egypt it was only those that had their door 
posts actually sprinkled w^th the blood of the Paschal 
Lamb that were saved from death. So is it with us. The 
Blood of our Paschal Lamb shed on the cross will not 
save us, unless it is applied to each one of us separately. 
And it is in the sacraments that Christ has commanded 
that this should be done. Hence the Church teaches us 
that they " are generally [that is, by all] necessary for 
salvation." 

Sacraments like Pipes and Wires. 

The great gas tank may be charged with the most brill- 
iant gas, yet, unless an unbroken pipe conveys the gas 
into our houses, we cannot have the benefit of either one 



48 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



or other. The same is true of the electric Hght and the 
telegraph. There may be abundance of power in the bat- 
tery or the generator, but, unless that little insignificant 
wire connects us with it, we can have neither light nor 
message. 

Sacraments " the Extension of the Incarnation.'* 

Often we see, at some distance from our great towns — 
Manchester, for instance — a series of large lakes formed 
in the recesses of the lonely hills. This is the great reser- 
voir, an image of the mighty work of the Redeemer on 
the Cross, with its infinite value. Though we cannot 
discern it, a large channel conveys that pure water for a 
long distance; emblem of the Church, which hands on 
from age to age the power of Christ. And then also, 
though invisible to us, a system and network of pipes 
and communications take that wholesome water, which 
comes from the heathery hills and m.oors far away, into 
each house and building of the crowded city. Even so 
" the grace " of Christ is distributed by the Divine chan- 
nels of Church and Sacraments and Ordinances to 
myriads of individual souls. 

{For the remaining Sundays after Epiphany see pp. 339-359 ) 



SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY. 

RENOUNCING THE DEVIL. 

" Three Things in My Name." 

An old man before he died made his will, in which he 
left his estate to his grand-nephew, subject to certain 
conditions, which he was to fulfil when he came of age, 
otherwise the property was not to descend to him. The 
person appeared very anxious that his grand-nephew 
should fulfil the conditions, and the friends whom he had 
appointed executors promised in the name of the child 
that he should fulfil them. They were then appointed his 
guardians, and empowered to act for him as the heir of 
the estate, until he should come of age. Suppose the 
youth when he grew up should dislike the trouble which 
the conditions involved, and should say, "I am not bound 
by the promise made in my name when I was a child; I 
will do as I please." He might do so — he might follow his 
own inclinations — but it would be at the expense of for- 
feiting the estate which had been left him. In the same 
manner your god-fathers and god-mothers have prom- 
ised that you should obey the will of God, and you are 
bound to keep the promises which they have made in 
your name, for if you do not — if you choose to follow the 
dictates of your own evil and corrupt hearts, contrary to 
God's commandments, you lose the favour of God, and 
the happiness of heaven. 



SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY. 



51 



Resist the Beginnings of Evil. 

The Arabs have a fable about a miller who was startled 
by seeing a camel's nose thrust in the window of the 
room where he slept. It is very cold outside," said the 
camel. " I only want to put in my nose." In came the 
nose, then the neck, hnally the whole body. The miller 
began to be incommoded by his ungainly companion. 
He felt that the apartment was not large enough for both. 

If you are inconvenienced, you may leave," said the 
camel. " As for myself, I shall stay where I am." Who- 
ever yields in the slightest degree to a bad habit may be 
entirely overcome. We must not allow even the camel's 
nose to come in. 

"The Wiles of the Devil." 

It is said that in New Zealand, some years ago, many of 
the British troops were mortally wounded by concealed 
natives, who hid themselves in holes in the earth, and 
thence darted their deadly spears upward against the un- 
suspecting soldier. So our spiritual enemy, Satan, hides 
himself in a thousand different places, and wounds us 
with some sudden temptation when we are least aware. 

Watch Every Part of the Wall. 

The great fortress of Babylon fell before the conquering 
army of Cyrus, and it was in this way: The walls were 
manned, the sentinels were at their posts, and for a time 
every attack failed. But there was one spot that was so 
strong, it seemed needless to place guards or watchers 
there. It was where the river Euphrates and the brazen 
gates both guarded the city. And it was just here that 
the enemy entered and surprised the garrison. 



52 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



" A Good Word for Satan." 

Some young girls once remarked among themselves, 
" We really believe that our dear mother would have a 
good v^'ord to say for Satan himself." " Yes," said she, 
coming in on the instant, " yes, girls, it is a great pity 
you do not copy his industry, and be as zealous in doing 
good as he is in doing evil." May not our Lord, too, 
have had that old serpent called the Devil " in mind 
v^^hen He said, " Be ye wise as serpents " ? 

Prisoners of Satan. 

In the old evil days in France, just before the Revolution 
in the last century, there were certain terrible dungeons 
called oubliettes, or forgotten places. One day some per- 
son would disappear from his friends, and no one would 
ever know what had become of him. He had been taken 
to one of these secret and dark dungeons, forgetting per- 
haps his own name and family. When the Revolution 
came the doors of these secret prisons were thrown open, 
and the unhappy prisoners were released, though blinded 
and broken by long confinement. Satan still has his 
oubliettes for those who refuse to renounce him, and seek 
Christ's help against him. They have forgotten God, for- 
gotten their Saviour, forgotten their Christian name and 
calling. Who alone can open these prison doors? There 
is but one answer. There is but one deliverer. " The 
Lord looseth men out of prison." Jesus Christ is the 
" Stronger " One who alone can give " liberty to the cap- 
tives." 

The Testing of Satan. 

S. Paul tells us that sometimes " Satan is transformed 
into an angel of light," so that he may tempt us all the 



SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY. 



53 



more easily. But there is alwa^^s one way of testing him. 
Let me tell you the way S. Martin is said to have found 
him out. One night S. Martin was praying in his cell, 
when Satan appeared to him, dressed in glorious raiment, 
and with a light shining upon his head. He told S. Mar- 
tm that he was the Lord Jesus, and for a moment Martin 
was deceived. Still he knew how false and cunning the 
Devil is, so he said, " Show me the marks of the wounds, 
or I will not believe in thee." Then Satan vanished away. 



Satan's most Subtle Temptations. 

Sins of omission, " Leaving undone what we ought to 
have done," are among the Devil's most subtle tempta- 
tions of us. AVhen good Bishop Hammond was on his 
deathbed, he prayed, Forgive especially my sins of 
omission." How often a little carelessness and neglect 
has been the commencement of the ruin of a soul! 
There was once a Canadian boatman w^ho, waiting on 
the river's bank, stepped into his canoe, lightly casting a 
cord from the bow round a stake on the bank. Soothed 
by the ripple of the water, he fell asleep. But the current 
began to act, the cord to tighten — it had been negligently 
fastened. Presently it uncoiled under the pressure. The 
boat drifted down the stream, and the man only awak- 
ened, when it was too late, in the roaring rapids above 
the Falls of Niagara. 



The Allurements of Satan. 

RoW'LAND Hill began his sermon one morning by say- 
ing, " My friends, the other day I was going down the 
street, and I saw a drove of pigs following a man. This 
excited my curiosity so much that I determined to fol- 



54 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



low. I did so; and, to my great surprise, I saw them fol- 
low him to the slaughter-house. I was anxious to know 
how this was brought about; and I said to the man, ' My 
friend, how did you manage to induce these pigs to fol- 
low you here?' ' Oh! did you not see?' said the man. 
' I had a basket of beans under my arm; and I dropped a 
few as I came along, and so they followed me.' Yes," 
said the preacher, " and I thought, so it is the Devil has 
his basket of beans under his arm; and he drops them as 
he goes along; and what multitudes he induces to follow 
him to an everlasting slaughter-house! " 



The Devil an Ass. 

In some ways the Devil is keen and sharp, but, like most 
other sharpers, a fool nevertheless. All sin is folly as 
well as wickedness, and so Ben Jonson's saying is true, 
The Devil is an ass." 



SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY. 



RENOUNCING THE WORLD. 

" The World Passeth Away." 

Generally speaking, in a desert there are but few 
springs of water, and some of them at the distance of four, 
six, or eight days' journey; so that if the traveller falls 
short of water, or the next well should prove dry, he is 
reduced to the greatest distress. Exposed to the burning 
sun without shelter, and parched with thirst, it is nearly 
the most terrible situation in which a man can be placed. 
In the midst of all this misery, the deceitful mirage often 
appears before the traveller at no great distance, resem- 
bling a lake or river of clear fresh water. If perchance a 
traveller is not undeceived, he hastens his pace to reach 
it sooner; the more he advances towards it, the more it 
recedes from him, till at last it vanishes entirely, and the 
deluded passenger often asks, where is the water he saw 
at no great distance? He can scarcely believe that he 
was so deceived; he protests that he saw the waves run- 
ning before the wind, and the reflection of the high rocks 
in the water. Such is the disappointment of the man who 
forsakes the Lord, the fountain of living water," for 
the enjoyments which the pomps and vanities of the 
world afford. God only can satisfy the immortal soul. 



SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY. 



57 



Arabian Proverb. 

" Our last robe is made without pockets.'' 

" Dead Sea Fruit." 

It was a remarkably hot and sultry day. We were 
scrambling up the mountain which rises above the east 
shore of the Dead vSea, when I saw before me a fine plum- 
tree loaded with fresh-blooming plums. I cried to my 
fellow-traveller, " Now, then, who will arrive first at that 
plum-tree? " and, as he caught a glimpse of so refreshing 
an object, we both pressed our horses into a gallop to see 
wdiich should get the first plum from the branches. We 
both arrived at the same time, and each, snatching a fine 
ripe plum, put it at once into our mouths; when, on bit- 
ing it, instead of the cool, delicious, juicy fruit which we 
expected, our mouths were filled with a dry, bitter dust; 
and we sat under the tree upon our horses, sputtering 
and hemming, and doing all we could to be relieved of 
the nauseous taste of this strange fruit. We then per- 
ceived, to my great delight, that we had discovered the 
famous apple of the Dead Sea. Equally disappointing is 
worldly pleasure to those who make it their one aim in 
life. 

" Like Dead Sea fruit, it tempts the eye, 
But turns to ashes on the lips." 

Looking Downwards. 

A YOUNG man once picked up a gold coin lying in the 
road. Ever afterwards, as he walked along, he kept his 
eyes steadily fixed on the ground in the hope of finding 
another. And in the course of a long life he did pick up, 
at different times, a good amount of gold and silver. 



58 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



All these days, however, he saw not that heaven was 
bright above him and nature was beautiful around. He 
never once lifted his eyes from the mud and filth in which 
he sought the treasure, and when he died, a rich old man, 
he only knew this fair earth of ours as a dirty road in 
which to pick up money as you walk along. 

" Lead Thou me on." 

A YOUNG man, if he is wise, will use the experience of 
those who have gone before him and so begin life with an 
advantage. The other plan, of learning all by experi- 
ence, is an error, and the majority who do this perish. 
The ship captain, who sails without a chart made from 
the experience of others before him, may be very bold, 
but he is not very wise, and he has only himself to blame 
when he and his ship find a watery grave among the rocks 
of the reef. There is always with a young man a tendency 
to think that others before him have been wrecked be- 
cause they were not so smart as he is, that he can manage 
matters readily where they failed, that they were stupid 
or careless or blind, while he is clear-headed and cautious 
and wide-awake, and it is hard to convince him that those 
whom he stigmatises as stupid, careless, or blind once 
thought and spoke exactly as he thinks and speaks now. 
Humility and faith are not usual characteristics of young 
men, and yet they are the saving salt, without which cor- 
ruption is threatened. Lead Thou me on," is the wise 
prayer of every young man in the midst of life's dangers. 

" If I were only Rich." 

A POOR man was a carpenter; and he often said to him- 
self and others, ''If I were only rich, I would show people 



SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY. 



59 



how to give." In his dream he saw a pyramid of silver 
dollars — all new, bright, and beautiful. Just then a voice 
reached him, saying — " Now is your time! You are 
rich at last; let us see your generosity! " So he rose from 
his seat and went to the pile to take some money for 
charitable purposes. But the pyramid was so perfect that 
he could not bear to break it; he walked all around it, but 
found no place where he could take a dollar without 
spoiling the heap. So he decided that tlie pyramid should 
not be broken! . . . and then awoke. He awoke to 
know himself, and to see that he would be generous only 
while comparatively poor. 

" The World Passeth Away." 

There is a beautiful statue of a young man, a pearl fisher, 
who had got entangled in the sea weed and lay dead at 
the bottom of the sea. All around him are precious 
pearls and rich shells, all useless to him now. 

Pride in Poverty as well as in Riches. 

A Christian lady who was labouring among the poor 
and degraded residents of the Five Points, in the city of 
New York, says that pride is to be met with even there. 
" I know one woman in my district," said this lady to a 
friend, " who refuses to associate with her next door 
neighbour because there is only one chair in her room, 
while she has two in hers." 

"He shall Carry Nothing away with him.'* 

It is said that when Alexander the Great was dying he 
gave orders that when his body was prepared for the 



6o 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



grave his hands should not be wrapped, as was usual, 
in the cere-cloths, but should be left outside the bier. 
He said he wanted people to see that they were empty; 
that he, born to one empire, the conqueror of another, 
and the possessor of the riches of both, yet now could 
carry not even the smallest thing away with him when he 
was dead. 

" Dead while he Liveth." 

It was a custom among the Scythians, when the head of 
a household died, to dress his body in the finest clothes, 
set him in his chariot, and carry him about to the houses 
of his friends. There they set the man at the table, and 
feasted before him as he sat in his richest dress, ap- 
parently alive, but really dead. So is it with those who 
live only for the world. They have a name that they live, 
but they are dead. 

The Deceitfulness of Riches. 

Bacchus once ofifered Midas his choice of gifts. He 
asked that whatever he might touch should be changed 
into gold. Bacchus consented, though sorry that he had 
not made a better choice. Midas went his way rejoicing 
in his newly acquired power, which he hastened to put to 
the test. He could scarce believe his eyes when he found 
a twig of an oak, which he had plucked, become gold in 
his hand. He took up a stone; it changed to gold. He 
touched a sod; it did the same. He took an apple from a 
tree; you would have thought he had robbed the garden 
of the Hesperides. His joy knew no bounds; and, when 
he got home, he ordered the servants to set a splendid 
repast on the table. Then he found, to his dismay, that, 
whether he touched bread, it hardened in his hand, or put 



SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY. 



6i 



a morsel to his lips, it defied his teeth. He took a glass of 
wine; but it flowed down his throat Uke melted gold. 
In consternation, fearing starvation, he held up his 
arms, shining with gold, to Bacchus, and besought him 
to take back his gift. Bacchus said, " Go to the river Pac- 
tolus, trace the stream to its fountain-head, there plunge 
your head and body in, and wash away your fault and its 
punishment." Hence Midas learned to hate wealth and 
splendour. 

Worldliness Fatal. 

In Brazil there grows a common plant which forest- 
dwellers call the matador, or murderer." Its slender 
stem creeps at first along the ground; but no sooner does 
it meet a vigorous tree, than, with clinging grasp, it 
cleaves to it, and climbs it, and, as it climbs, keeps, at 
short intervals, sending out arm-like tendrils that em- 
brace the tree. As the murderer ascends, these ligatures 
grow larger, and clasp tighter. Up, up, it climbs a hun- 
dred feet, nay, two hundred if need be, until the last 
loftiest spire is gained and fettered. Then, as if in tri- 
umph, the parasite shoots a huge, flowery head above 
the strangled summit, and thence, from the dead tree's 
crown, scatters its seed to do again the work of death. 
Even thus worldliness has strangled more churches than 
ever persecution broke. 

Dangers of Worldliness. 

It is said that among the recent discoveries at Pompeii 
was a woman in the act of gathering in her apron, rings, 
bracelets, and other valuable articles of jewelry. It 
would seem that some wealthy persons, aware of the 
coming destruction, had made their escape, and left these 



62 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



things behind as worthless in comparison with life; but 
she, hoping to save both, delayed the time of her flight, 
and, alas! was overwhelmed in the terrific judgment, and 
so lost her life and her jewels. 

"Athanasius against the World," 

There was once a famous man of God named Athana- 
sius, the great Bishop of Alexandria in Egypt. He was 
bold enough to maintain the true faith of Christ against 
Emperors and heretical Bishops, and he was driven into 
banishment over and over again. Some of his friends 
advised him to give in, for," said they, the world is 
against you." Then," answered Athanasius, it is 
Athanasius against the world." 

The World Unsatisfying". 

Grimaldt, the celebrated clown, went to a physician to 
obtain a cure for his melancholy. The physician did not 
know who his patient was, but thinking he only needed 
a little amusement, said to him, For medicine, go and 
hear Grimaldi." "Ah! but I am Grimaldi," was the 
answer. 

The Right and Wrong Uses of the World. 

A VAIN man's motto is, "Win gold, and wear it;" a 
generous, "Win gold, and share it;" a miser's, "Win 
gold, and spare it; " a profligate's, " Win gold, and spend 
it;" a broker's, "Win gold, and lend it;" a gambler's, 
" Win gold, and lose it; " a wise man's, " Win gold, and 
use it." 

The World and " The Pride of Life." 

How striking is the poem into which Longfellow has 
cast the legend of King Robert of Sicily! As this Nor- 



SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY. 



63 



man king was in church he heard the words of tlie 
Magnificat chanted by the clergy — " He hath put down 
the mighty " — and in the insolence of his pride declared, 
No power can shake mc from my throne! " Full of this 
haughty confidence, he fell asleep in his stall, and when 
he awoke all was dark and still in the sanctuary. He 
walked to the door, and demanded that it should be 
opened. The gatekeeper regarded him with wonder, and 
asked who he was. His gorgeous clothing had become 
rags, his noble mien was changed to the appearance of a 
half-mad jester, whilst an angel bearing his likeness took 
his place on the throne. Wildly, passionately, he de- 
manded his position, his sceptre, but none recognised 
him; all treated him as the mad jester, and w^hen he grew 
more violent drove him from the palace gates with taunts 
and blows. Often the Angel, in majestic dignity, would 
ask him, ''Art thou the king?" and in his obstinate 
pride he would angrily answer, '* I am! I am the king! " 
whilst all around ridiculed his claim. And so three years 
went by under the beneficent sw^ay of the Angel: the 
country enjoying wondrous rest and prosperity. Then 
came a journey to Rome at Easter, and even the hard 
and wilful heart of Robert was softened, as all around re- 
joiced at that Holy Festival; and when the Angel per- 
ceived that better thoughts were driving out the pride 
and haughtiness of the degraded monarch, he summoned 
him to an interview, and once more the angelic sem- 
blance of himself enquired, Art thou the king? " Then, 
bowing his head, Robert, subdued at last, replied, 

"Thou knowest best; 
My sins as scarlet are, let me go hence! " 

The Angel smiled, and through the open window came 



64 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES, 



the chant, " He hath put down the mighty from their 
seat: He hath exalted them of low degree," and lo! King 
Robert was alone, the Angel having departed, was ar- 
rayed once more in royal apparel, and found praying on 
his knees when his courtiers entered! There is no room 
for pride in Heaven. The highest Saint, it has been well 
said, bends lowest beneath his weight of glory. 



QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY. 



RENOUNCING THE FLESH. 

" Be Sure your Sin will Find you Out." 

A NUMBER of barrels filled with gold, silver, and copper 
coin were sent on a railway in Germany. When they ar- 
rived at the end of their journey, one was found full of 
sand instead of coin. At what station was it emptied of 
its precious metal and filled with sand? If that could be 
ascertained, the thief might be found. The police con- 
sulted a gentleman who had a very powerful microscope. 
He sent for samples of sand from all the railway stations 
which the barrels had passed. To the naked eye the dif- 
ferent samples seemed to be all alike, but when they were 
placed, one after another, under the microscope, it was 
seen that there was one that differed from all the rest, 
and that one was found to be the same as that which was 
found in the barrel. This showed what station it was 
where the robbery was committed, and it was not hard to 
hit upon the. thief among the few men employed there. 

The Growth of Barnacles. 

I HAVE in my cabinet a rough salt-water shell, encrusted 
with shells called barnacles. These little shell-fish are 
always bound fast to some hard substance which the 
waves wash over. They draw their food from the waves, 
5 



66 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



which bring it to their very mouths; for they can never 
leave their homes or the spot where they are anchored, 
to seek food. I have seen a glass bottle brought up in a 
dredging machine, which was covered with these shells, 
as firmly glued to its smooth sides as if they had been 
blown in when the glass was made. The Great East- 
ern, when built, was the largest ship afloat, and was 
considered one of the wonders of the world. How absurd 
it would seem to think the little barnacle and its puny 
neighbours could have any effect upon this leviathan of 
the deep! Yet one after another these "feeble folk" 
attached themselves to its iron plates until they had 
formed a thick and jagged crust. It was found needful 
to take the vessel into Milford Dock and scrape off the 
mass, which weighed no less than three hundred tonS' — 
enough to load two collier brigs. The weight was little, 
compared with the size of the ship, but the rough surface 
created so much friction that she could not cut through 
the water with her usual speed. The little barnacles held 
back the Great Eastern. Bad habits are like barnacles 
when allowed to fasten themselves upon us. They seem 
insignificant to begin with, but a barnacle left to grow 
undisturbed attains a large size sometimes. Even when 
it is small, who ever saw one alone? So evil habits grow 
and multiply until they weigh us down. 

Danger of Little Sins. 

I w^iLL tell you a very wonderful thing that happened 
some time ago in North America. A swarm of flies 
stopped a train — a long train of heavy carriages, go- 
ing at the rate of twenty miles an hour, I will tell 
you how it happened. In the railway carriages in Amer- 
ica they put the grease in a box over the wheel. The 



QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY. 



67 



friction causes the grease to melt, and enables the 
wheel to go round nicely. If the grease does not come 
down, the wheel will get hot, and will set the carriage on 
fire. One day the engineer saw that one of the w^heels 
was getting hot, red-hot. He stopped the train to ex- 
amine the cause, and found a number of flies had got 
into the grease-box, and prevented it running down the 
wheel. So you see the little flies stopped the train. 

"The Holes are Still There!" 

A CLERGYMAN had a son who was wilful and disobe- 
dient, and careless of telling the truth. This gave his 
father great pain, and he often talked to the boy, show- 
ing him that he was sowing bad seed, of which he must 
reap the harvest in this life and the next. But neither 
kindness nor punishment seemed to be of any use. One 
day the father called his boy into the study, and gave 
him a piece of wood, a hammer, and some nails. " See," 
said he, " every time you commit a fault, strike a nail 
into the wood. When it is full of nails, bring it to me." 
The boy was amused at first; but he was ashamed when 
in a very few days he brought back the piece of w^ood, 
perfectly covered with nails. His father took it, and 
looked at him very sadly, but he only said, " Take it 
back now, my son, and every time you resist a tempta- 
tion to sin, pull out a nail." The boy went away resolved 
to try his utmost. But it was some weeks before he again 
brought the wood to his father. " I've got them all out, 
father. It's been hard work; but I have tried, and I 
try." God bless you, my dear boy. You have done 
well, but see — you have got all the nails out of the wood, 
but the holes they made are still there. Can you get 
those out?" " No, father," said his son, looking down. 



68 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



He went away sad, but earnestly purposing to lead a 
better life. He became a clergyman, and was known far 
and wide as a true servant of Christ. But he always said 
to himself, when tempted to sin, " The holes are still 
there." 

Lasting Effect of Sin. 

Think, my children, of this; it is not as if when you 
yielded to a temptation, you yielded once for all, and 
then an end. No one can say how long the poison of it 
lies hid within you, and when it will break out and fester. 
I will tell you a story which happened about a fortnight 
ago. A man who wished to buy a handsome ring went 
into a jeweller's shop in Paris and desired to see some. 
The jeweller showed him a very ancient gold ring, re- 
markably fine, and curious on this account, that on the 
inside of it were two little lion's claws. The buyer, while 
looking at the others, was playing with this; at last he 
purchased another and went away. But he had scarcely 
reached home, when first his hand, then his side, then his 
whole body became numb and without feehng, as if he 
had had a stroke of the palsy; and it grew worse and 
worse, until the physician, who came in haste, thought 
him dying. ''You must somehow have taken poison," he 
said. The sick man protested that he had not. At length 
some one remembered this ring; and it was then dis- 
covered to be what is called a death-ring, which was 
often employed in those wicked Italian States three or 
four hundred years ago. If a man hated another, and 
desired to murder him, he would present him with one of 
them; in the inside was a drop of deadly poison, and a 
very small hole, out of which it would not make its way 
except it was squeezed. When the poor man was wear- 
ing it, the murderer would come and shake his hand 



QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY. 



69 



violently; the lion's claw would give his finger a little 
scratch, and in a few hours he was a dead man. — Neale's 
Sermons for Children. 

Duty before Pleasure. 

There is a beautiful legend illustrating the blessedness 
of performing our duty at whatever cost to our inclina- 
tion. A vision of our Saviour had appeared to a monk, 
and in silent bliss he was gazing upon it. The hour ar- 
rived at which it was his duty to feed the poor of the con- 
vent. He lingered not in his cell to enjoy the vision, but 
left it to perform his humble duty. When he returned 
he found the blessed vision still waiting for him, and 
uttering these words, " Hadst thou staid, I must have 
fled." 

" Burning our Boats." 

One great danger about sins of the flesh is in looking 
back at them, thinking how pleasant they were, and then 
turning back to them. For the Christian soldier there 
must be no looking back. When a Roman general of 
old determined on a conquest, he landed his troops on 
the shore, and then burnt his boats, so that there could be 
no retreat. If we would conquer the flesh we, too, must 
burn our boats. 

" Sowing to the Flesh." 

There is a fable or story among the ancients that Jason 
sowed the ground with dragons' teeth, and there sprang 
up an army of fierce armed m^en. Every sin wilfully 
committed, every mean, cruel action, every bad word 
spoken, every impure thought indulged in, is a dragon's 



70 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



tooth sown, and it will spring up as a fierce armed enemy 
of our peace. 

"Sowing to the Spirit." 

Once a little boy sowed the seed of a violet on a bank in 
his garden. Before long he was taken away to a foreign 
land, where he grew up to be a man. After long years he 
came back and went to visit his old home. In the gar- 
den he found a bank of sweet-smelling violets. He had 
sown sweetness, and he gathered it. Every little loving 
word, and kindly act, and pure thought, is like the violet 
seed: It will grow and bring us a crop of sweetness." 

" That thou Appear not unto Men to Fast." 

S. Thomas a Becket, the great Archbishop of Canter- 
bury in the twelfth century, was dressed outwardly as be- 
came his rank as the second person in the kingdom. But 
next his flesh, and unseen of men, he wore a penitential 
shirt of sackcloth, to remind him of his sinfulness and 
unworthiness in the eyes of God. There are some people 
who wear their sackcloth all outside. They are the peo- 
ple who are fond of talking about what they are denying 
themselves, or are going to deny themselves, during 
Lent. Let us remember our Lord's words about the 
true way to fast, " not unto men, but unto thy Father 
which is in secret." Let our sackcloth be inside, not 
outside. 

The Use of Self- discipline. 

It is related of Michael Angelo that, while walking with 
some friends through an obscure street in the city of 
Florence, he discovered a fine block of marble lying neg- 
lected in a yard, and half buried in dirt and rubbish. 



QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY. 



71 



Regardless of his holiday attire, he at once fell to work 
upon it, clearing away its filth, and striving to lift it from 
the slime and mire in which it lay. His companions 
asked him, in astonishment, what he was doing, and 
what he wanted with that worthless piece of rock. Oh! 
there's an angel in the stone," was the answer; "and I 
must get it out." He had it removed to his studio, and 
with patient toil, with mallet and chisel, he let the angel 
out. What to others was but a rude, unsightly mass of 
stone, to his educated eye was the buried glory of art; 
and he discovered at a glance what might be made of it. 
A mason would have put it into a stone wall; a cartman 
would have used it for filling in, or to grade the streets : 
but he transformed it into a creation of genius, and gave 
it a value for ages to come. 



FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT. 



THE CHRISTIAN RESOLVE AND CON- 
FIRMATION. 

Two Paths. 

Two youths once started together on a way which led 
them over the desert to their father's house. At first the 
road lay by fountains, and by groves of orange and 
pomegranate, with which one as he passed stored his 
scrip and filled his water-skin, while the other, though 
gently warned, went forward without a thought and 
without a care. Together they reached the desert, and 
soon the great sun was flaming over them, and the burn- 
ing heat, and the scorching thirst, and the weary toil 
pressed most on him who was worst provided. At last 
they saw more and more distinctly before them the sight 
which many a traveller sees. A bright city seemed near 
them in its green oasis — with palms and palaces and run- 
nels of silver water — while voices of strange fascination 
lured them there. But amid these tempting calls they 
heard continually a still small voice, sounding like the 
voice of their father from afar. And look not," it 
whispered, " and listen not; that enticing loveliness is 
the deadly mirage; those sounds are the voices of the evil 
spirits in the wilderness, and they who listen to them re- 
turn no more." And one of them knew that it was so in 



FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT. 



73 



his miserable heart, but more and more after those allur- 
ing voices, and more and more towards that gleaming 
falsehood which faded and fled before him, he turned 
aside into those haunted solitudes. And when the twi- 
light came with its dew and stars the one was resting in 
his father's happy home; and they who, with heavy 
hearts, followed the wandering track of the other, saw 
only a dead body on the sands — heard only the flapping 
of the vulture's wing. — Dean Farrar. 

We can Try at any Rate. 

The brave English general, Sir Henry Lawrence, who 
was killed while defending Lucknow during the awful 
" Indian Mutiny," asked that only this inscription should 
be placed on his grave, " Here lies Henry Lawrence, 
who tried to do his duty." 

Personal Service. 

There is an old tale, idle in itself; the use may be good. 
A certain man that would never go to church, when he 
heard the Saints' bell ring would say to his wife, " Go 
thou to church, and pray for thee and me." One night 
he dreamt that both he and his wife were dead, and that 
they knocked together at Heaven's gate for entrance. S. 
Peter (by the legend's leave) is porter, and suffered the 
wife to enter in, but kept the husband out; answering 
him, " She is gone in both for herself and thee." 

Importance of Starting Right. 

" I HAVE been on a mountain ridge, where the stable 
of the inn in which I was putting up had a roof just like 
any roof of a house in England. If a drop of rain came 



74 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



down, how little matter it would seem to those who knew 
nothing further, whether it fell on this side of the ridge 
or that! And what was the real matter? This dif¥erence: 
If it fell one quarter of an inch here, it went into a little 
stream, which led into a little river, which led into a 
larger river, which led into a great river which fell into 
the Mediterranean; if on the other side, by the same steps 
it got, or would get, into the Atlantic. That is, a quarter 
of an inch difference to-day; and this day week those two 
little drops may be thousands of miles apart. And so 
with regard to you. One little, one very tiny mistake at 
the beginning, a mistake as to what you ought to say or 
ought to do, and it may make all the difference between 
honour and respect and God's dear service in this world; 
— or, what I cannot bear to think of as regards any of 
you." 

" By God's Help." 

S. Theresa began the erection of a great church with 
but two pennies in her purse. When some one spoke to 
her about it she exclaimed, Two pennies and Theresa 
are nothing; but two pennies and God are everything." 

Christian Courage. 

Mankind loves a hero and despises a coward, and any 
one who has the courage of his convictions and dares to 
stand by his colours will win the admiration of even his 
strongest opponents. In one of his sermons at Marl- 
borough College Dean Farrar tells of a boy of Eton who 
was popular because of his skill in athletics and for 
his sterling character. When at certain gatherings 
his schoolmates began to sing coarse and obscene songs, 
he declared that they should not do so in his presence 



FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT. 



7S 



and left the room. His determined and manly attitude 
stopped the singing of such songs at these gatherings. 

" We will do it." 

Once the great Duke of Wellington sent this message to 
his troops, Ciudad Rodrigo must be taken to-night.'^ 
And the answer of those troops was not to ask of the 
danger or the difficulty, but simply to say, " Then we will 
do it." 

" Yes " and " No." 

There is a tremendous power in the little monosyllable 
" No " when it is spoken resolutely and courageously. 
It has often been like a giant rock by the sea, as it has 
encountered and hurled back the mighty waves of temp- 
tation. It is a majestic power, the power to say " No " 
to everything that is not right. But it is just as important 
to learn to say " Yes." There come to us offers and 
solicitations we must not reject, and opportunities we 
must not thrust away. Life is not all resistance and 
defence. Whatsoever is wrong we must meet with a firm, 
strong, uncompromising No " ; but whatever is right 
we should welcome into our life with a hearty, cheerful 
" Yes." 

Danger of Delay. 

A LADY who had given herself up to the vanities of the 
world, had been very much affected by attendance at a 
mission. Going home, she had apparently written out 
at night a solemn promise to give herself to God that day 
six months. The word six had been run through with a 
pencil, and three substituted. This again had been can- 
celled, and the word one written above. Awful sin of pre- 



76 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



sumption, which was, to all appearance, awfully judged! 
Next morning the lady was found dead in her bed, that 
fearful witness against her being upon her toilet-table. 
{This story was told during the London Mission of 18/4, 
by a preacher who vouched for its truth.) 

No Need of Cowards. 

A CELEBRATED Russian Czar, who was conducting a 
long and almost hopeless siege, replied to the murmurs 
of his followers by directing that two lists should be 
drawn up — of the willing and of the unwilling warriors in 
his host. " The first," he said, " shall be dear to me as 
my own children; their needs shall be made known to 
me, and I will share all I have with them. The others 
may return home — I want no cowards in my army." 
(Compare the story of Gideon's three hundred in Judges 
vii.) 

A Good Motto for Lent. 

" No pains, no gains." 

Wasted Years. 

A STORY is handed down to us of the time when Rome 
was being founded. A woman from a far-away land sud- 
denly appeared before Tarquin, the chief of the state, and 
offered to sell him nine books of wisdom for a great sum. 
When Tarquin refused her price she burned three of the 
books, and yet demanded the same sum as before for the 
other six. He ridiculed the idea of having to pay as 
much for six as had been asked for nine, whereupon 
she burned three more, and asked again the same price 
for the remaining books she had asked for all. And as 



FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT. 



77 



the woman was a Sibyl or prophetess, and the books 
were needful for the right guidance of the state, the king 
at last consented, and paid for a portion the same sum 
for which he might have purchased all. Our years are 
like those books. God lays them before us, and asks 
that we give Him our hearts for them. As long as we 
refuse, the years are wasted and lost. Don't let this be 
another year lost! 

Need of Decision. 

" Once to every man and nation comes the moment to 

decide 

In the strife of Truth and Falsehood, for the good or 
evil side." — Lowell, 



SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT. 



THE CHRISTIAN RESOLVE AND CON- 
FIRMATION {Continued). 

Courage amid Frequent Failure. 

It was said by one of the most famous of modem 
hunters, You must expect a fall sometimes, but with a 
fall you may get over anything." He himself had been 
thrown no less than seventy times in his life, but the end 
was that he could ride anywhere. He rode at the most 
tremendous leaps, and never even cast a glance back at 
them. And what was his secret? Fling your heart 
over," he used to say, and your horse will follow." 

What will the End be ? 

A PAINTER once drew a picture of a child whom he had 
seen at prayer. He called it " Innocence "; and it hung 
on the wall of his studio for many a year. When he was 
an old man, he determined to paint a companion picture, 
and call it " Guilt." He visited a prison, and asked to 
see the most hardened criminal there, that he might 
draw his portrait. A degraded wretch was shown to him; 
and while he was sketching the picture, he talked with the 
man, and found to his horror that he was the same whom 
he had painted as a boy. Evil company had brought 
him to this end. 



SECOND SUNDA Y IN LENT. 



79 



Unto my Life's End." 

Napoleon said of the English soldiers that they never 
knew when they w^ere beaten." That is the kind of sol- 
diers that Christ wants, soldiers that will never give up 
the fight. 

Power of Early Training. 

The great Duke of Wellington said that the victory of 
Waterloo was won many years before on the playground 
of Eton College. It is the manliness and self-control of 
the boy that make the man's life noble. 

Stragglers in Christ's Army. 

Standing one day before a beehive, Gotthold observed 
with delight how the little honey-birds departed and ar- 
rived, and from time to time returned home laden with 
the spoils of the flowxrs. Meanwhile a great yellow 
hornet — that wolf among the bees — came buzzing up in 
eager quest of prey. As it was eventide, and the bees, 
after the heat of the day, had settled about the mouth 
of the hive to breathe the cool air, it was amusing to 
observe that their fierce adversary lacked courage to 
attack their combined host and serried ranks. True, he 
often advanced for the purpose, but, seeing how densely 
and compactly they were sitting, was forced to retreat 
empty-handed. At last a bee, somewhat belated, arrived 
by itself, and on this straggler he instantly seized, fell 
with it to the earth, and dealt with it at his pleasure. The 
moral is clear. 

Perseverance. — Bruce and the Spider. 

The King of Scotland had been attacked by his enemies; 
had been beaten in several battles; was forsaken by 



8o 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



nearly all his friends; and knew that if he were taken he 
would at once be put to death. He was hiding in a cot- 
tage; and as he was walking in its garden, very sad as 
you may well think, he noticed a spider that was trying 
to get to the top of the garden wall. Just as it had 
almost reached the summit, it fell to the ground. Imme- 
diately it set about the work again, ran up the wall as be- 
fore, and when it was all but at the top, fell the second 
time. The King got interested in the poor insect, and 
watched it on. A third time it tried, with just the same 
success; and so time after time, till the eighth. The 
eighth time it also fell in the same manner; but, not a 
whit discouraged, it set about the business once more, 
and this ninth time it succeeded and got to the top of the 
wall. " Now," said the King, " I believe that I shall be 
beaten eight times, but that I shall conquer the ninth." 
And so it fell out. He did conquer his enemies in the 
ninth battle, and reigned long and gloriously afterwards. 



Almost Lost. 

After Sir Colin Campbell's silent retreat from Luck- 
now there was one man left behind. An officer, having 
gone to bed in a retired corner of the mess-house, over- 
slept himself. He had been forgotten. At 2 o'clock in 
the morning he got up and found to his horror that 
the army had already left. He hoped against hope and 
visited every outpost. All was deserted and silent. To 
be the only man in an open entrenchment and fifty thou- 
sand furious barbarians outside! It was horrible to con- 
template. He ran on until he could scarcely breathe. 
Still the same silence, only broken by the occasional 
discharge of the enemies' guns. At last he came up with 



SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT. 



8i 



the rear guard, almost ready to faint with excitement 
and fatigue, but saved. 

" That ye Bear much Fruito" 

The vine is not cultivated for its wood, bark, leaves, or 
flowers, but for its fruit. Its fruitfulness may be hindered 
by dodder, rust, mildew, spiders, little foxes, a-nd by ex- 
cessive growth, either of roots, branches, or leaves, and 
thus no plant requires so much, such constant and varied 
care in pruning the branches, cutting the roots, and 
cleansing the stalk; no plant requires so much pruning as 
the vine; the knife must cut into it until it bleeds and 
seems on the verge of destruction. In the spring, when 
it is bleeding and the branches strew the ground, you 
would despair of its life; but wait and see the luxuriance 
of summer and the fruits of autumn. One vine alone, 
that at Hampton Court, yields 2,000 clusters each year. 
6 



THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT. 



THE CHRISTIAN FAITH. 

The Creed our Guiding Light. 

It happened that the light in a certain Ughthouse, 
through some derangement of the machinery, once 
ceased to revolve as usual. When the keeper discovered 
it, he hastened to the light, and by manual labour kept 
steadily revolving it, until weariness compelled him to 
call another to his relief. That other took his turn, and 
so all night long the light was kept in motion. A 
stranger afterward commenting on the matter, the keeper 
replied, " Why, sir, there may be a hundred seamen look- 
ing out from the darkness and storm to catch a glimpse 
of this light. If it does not move, it will be mistaken for 
another, and in their uncertainty and danger they may 
lose the channel and be shipwrecked." 

Only the True Creed of any Use. 

I HAVE been in one of the Queen's dockyards, and have 
seen them busy in making all the things necessary for ves- 
sels, and, among others, the great ropes or cables with 
w^hich they are anchored. Now, imagine a ship in a 
tremendous storm, the winds and the waves trying to 
force her on a rocky coast, where she must be dashed into 
pieces, and every soul perish. She has let down her 



THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT. 



83 



anchor, and hangs by that and the cable only. When the 
masts are gone, the rudder lost, the boats dashed in 
pieces, the bulwarks that run round the ship dashed of¥, 
is it not all in all to the crew of what stuff their cable is 
made? If that will stand, they can still be saved. If it 
comes from the right place, it will stand. And, therefore, 
the Queen's ropemakers work in their cables a little col- 
oured thread, which no one else may imitate, and which 
marks them to have come from the dockyard. And the 
case is the same with us. In that last fearful storm of 
death there is but one cable that can anchor us in safety — 
that is the only one that never snaps. Earthly hopes may 
last for a while, but the cable that has in it the red thread 
of the King's storehouse is the only one that will keep us 
safe amidst the last great storm of death. 

The Creed our Pocket Compass. 

A STORY is told of an old hunter in Michigan who, when 
the country was new, got lost in the woods several times. 
He was told to buy a pocket compass, which he did, and 
a friend explained to him its use; he soon got lost, and lay 
out as usual. When found, he was asked why he did not 
travel by the compass. He said he did not dare to. He 
wished to go north, and he " tried hard to make the thing 
point north, but it wasn't no use; 'twould shake, shake, 
shake right round, and point southeast every time." A 
great many people fail of the right direction in life for the 
Same reason. The ancient creed of the Church is the 
Christian's pocket compass. It is God's gift to him, al- 
ways pointing him aright. If he will only follow its guid- 
ance he is safe. If he will tamper with it and alter it to 
suit his own ideas he is no wiser than the old hunter and 
will certainly be lost. 



84 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES, 



A Boy Martyr. 

Diocletian was persecuting the Christians. It was re- 
ported to him that Pancras, an orphan boy of 14 and very 
wealthy, had been converted to the Christian faith. He 
was immediately ordered to attend at the palace of Dio- 
cletian. The Emperor threatened him with instant death 
unless he sacrificed to Jupiter. The boy replied that he 
was a Christian, and ready to die; " for Christ," he said, 
" our Master, inspires the souls of His servants, even 
young- as I am, with courage to suffer for His sake." 
The Emperor made no reply, but ordered him to be led 
out of the city, and put to death by the sword on the 
Aurelian Way. There he sealed his testimony with his 
blood. He lay until the light of early dawn, when a 
Christian Roman lady wrapped the body in fine linen, 
and bore it to a catacomb near by, where she covered it 
with fresh flowers, embalming it with her tears. Many 
churches in England are named in honour of S. Pan- 
eras. 

Living and Believing. 

The word belief is said to be derived from the two words 
by live." That is, our belief is the thing by which we 
live. As a matter of fact all conduct, all living, is regu- 
lated by what one really believes. Wrong belief means 
wrong life. 

Heresy. 

Heresy means picking and choosing what one likes to 
believe. But no single Christian is wise enough to 
choose out of the Bible even what is most necessary. We 
are all like children at a feast. If left to ourselves we 
should do as children do — pick out the sweet things we 



THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT. 



85 



fancied. We know what follows. But the Church 
" which is the mother of us all " (Gal. iv. 26) and who is 
so much wiser and older has already chosen for us. She 
knows what is best. 

A Fortune in the Bible. 

An English paper tells of the strange recovery of a lost 
will which recently occurred at Forgue, Aberdeenshire. 
A bachelor farmer, who had no friends or heirs, died a 
few months ago, and his property passed to the Crown. 
All the goods were disposed of except a pocket Bible 
and a few venerable books, which were given to his old 
and faithful housekeeper. To her astonishment, she 
found a scrap of paper in the Bible which proved to be 
her old master's will, by which he left her all his posses- 
sions. The Crown will now have to refund two thousand 
pounds. A fact even more wonderful than the above is 
that every reader who chooses can find between tihe covers 
of any Bible a treasure a thousand times more valuable, 
namely, the Christian faith with all its glorious promises. 

The True Faith a Treasure. 

" Truth is the highest thing that man can keep." — 
Chaucer, 

Faith in Christ. 

There was a shipwreck in mid-ocean. The captain and 
several of the crew on a dark night got out into the life- 
boat. The wind blew out the lantern. Have any of 
you a match?" asked the captain. After a long search 
just one match was found. On shore that match would 
not be worth half a cent, but now it is the most valuable 
thing they have, because, in order to be picked up by a 



86 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



passing- vessel, they must have a light. The sailors take 
off their coats, cold as it is, and hang them all around 
the match when it is struck, that the wind may not blow 
it out. Your faith, worthless in itself as the world may 
deem it, is the light of life that saves you. Guard it at 
whatever expense. 

" Faithful unto Death." 

When Maximian became Emperor of the West he did 
his utmost to destroy Christianity. There was in the Ro- 
man army a famous legion of ten thousand men, called 
the Theban Legion. It was formed entirely of Christians. 
Once, just before going into battle with the enemy, the 
Emperor commanded the Theban Legion to sacri- 
fice to idols. Their leader, in the name of his ten thou- 
sand soldiers, refused. The Emperor then ordered them 
to be decimated — that is, every tenth man to be killed. 
Still they were firm, and again, the second time, the cruel 
order was given for every tenth man to be slain. Fully 
armed, with their glittering eagles flashing on their hel- 
mets, the Christian soldiers stood in the perfect discipline 
of Rome, ready to die, but not to yield. Again they were 
ordered to sacrifice, and the brave answer was returned, 
" No; we were Christ's soldiers before we were Max- 
imian's." Then the furious Emperor gave the order to 
kill them all! Calmly the remaining soldiers laid down 
their arms, and knelt whilst the other troops put them to 
the sword. So died the Theban Legion, faithful unto 
death! 

The Creed that Endures. 

There is a fable of the Persians which tells us how a 
gourd wound itself round a lofty palm-tree, and in a few 



THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT. 



87 



weeks climbed to its very top. The quick-growing gourd 
asked the palm-tree its age, and the tree answered, " An 
hundred years." Then the gourd answered boastingly 
that it had grown as tall as the palm in fewer days than 
the tree could count years. " True," answered the palm- 
tree, " every summer has a gourd climbed round me, as 
proud as thou art, and as short-lived as thou wilt be." 

A True Creed. 

The question is not whether a doctrine is beautiful, but 
whether it is true. When we want to go to a place we 
don't ask whether the road leads through a pretty coun- 
try, but whether it is the right road, the road pointed out 
by authority, the turnpike road. 



FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT. 

GOD, THE FATHER ALMIGHTY, ETC. 

God, the Maker of Heaven and Earth. 

A GREAT writer of ancient Rome, though he himself and 
'all his countrymen were pagans, spoke to this effect: " I 
must believe that there is a God, all-wise and all-power- 
ful, who made everything; for I could as soon believe 
that a box of letters of the alphabet thrown upon the 
floor would form themselves into a poem or a history 
without any one putting them together, as that the world, 
and the things of it, could have existed without a Maker." 

" Let me Say my Creed." 

" Listen to a story which is true. A dying boy began 
to feel the very touch of death. He feared the great 
change, the dread unknown. ' What dreams may come ' 
in the seeming sleep. Father and mother, friend and 
nurse, said their little word, hymn and text and prayer. 
The child asked to be propped upon his pillow and whis- 
pered, ' Let me say my Creed! ' He said it from ' I be- 
lieve in God the Father Almighty ' down to ' the life ever- 
lasting,' and then smiled and breathed out these words, 
' Now I am not afraid to die.' " 



FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT. 



89 



"He Made us, and not we Ourselves." 

When Napoleon was on his voyage to Egypt some sa- 
vants " expressed their sceptical doubts, but the famous 
General pointed up to the starlit sky and said, " Gentle- 
men, who made these? " 

" Look around you.'* 

Sir Christopher Wren was the great architect who 
planned S. Paul's Cathedral, which was thirty-five years 
in building. Wren was buried in the Cathedral, and on 
his tomb was placed this simple inscription, " If you seek 
his monument, look around you " {Si momimentum reqiii- 
ris, cir aims pice). How much more may it be said of this 
world, " If you seek the proofs of God's power and love, 
look around you " ! 

" The Heavens Declare the Glory of God." 

During the French Revolution, Jean Bon St. Andre, 
the Vendean revolutionist and infidel, said to a Christian 
peasant: " I will have all your steeples pulled down, that 
you may no longer have any object by which you may be 
reminded of old superstitions." " But," replied the peas- 
ant, " you cannot help leaving us the stars." 

God and not Chance Made the World. 

To those who see in the existence of the world the effect 
of chance, a curious argument was opposed by Galiani. 
" One day," said he, " at Naples, a man took six dice in 
a dice-box and bet that he would throw six sixes. He 
succeeded at the first throw. I said to myself — ' Such a 
thing is possible.' He did it a second time. I said the 



9° 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



same thing. He put the dice back into the box three, 
four, five times, and always threw six sixes. ' Sangue di 
Bacco!' I cried; * the dice are loaded!'" And so they 
were. When I consider the ever-renewed order of na- 
ture, her immutable laws, her revolutions, always con- 
stant in an infinite variety, this single chance of a world 
such as we see it, returning unceasingly, notwithstanding 
a hundred million other chances of possible perturbation 
and destruction, we cry out, Of a truth, nature is 
loaded ! " It is God and not chance that made this world. 

Trust in God. 

A LADY and her husband were standing on the deck of a 
ship during an awful storm. The winds howled, and the 
ship was tossed like a feather over the great waves. The 
lady had to hold on with both hands to keep from falling. 
She was very much frightened, and asked her husband if 
he was not afraid. He said nothing, but, in a moment 
after, he held a naked sword with its point close to her 
breast, and asked her, "Are you not afraid?" "No." 
" Why not? Do you not see this sword within an inch of 
your heart? " " Yes, but I am not afraid, for it is my hus- 
band who holds it!" "Yes," said he, "and it is my 
Heavenly Father who holds this storm in His hand, and 
why should I be afraid? " 

God Everywhere. 

When M. de Chateauneuf was only nine years of age, a 
bishop, thinking to puzzle him, said: " Tell me, my child, 
where God is, and I will give you an orange." To this 
the child readily answered: " Tell me, my lord, where He 
is not, and I will give you two." 



FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT. 



91 



God's Omniscience. 

A PRISONER during the American Civil War was put into 
a cell in which there was a little slit through which a sol- 
dier's eye always watched him day and night. Whatever 
the prisoner did, whether he ate or drank or slept, the 
soldier's eye was gazing at him, and the thought of it was 
perfectly dreadful to him. He could never escape from 
that watchful eye. 

" I Believe in God the Father Almighty.*' 

Some years ago (1882) there were brought to the shores 
of the United States, and laid to their rest with many 
honours, the bodies of a brave band of Arctic explorers, 
of whom Lieutenant De Long was the commander. The 
awful story of their sufferings, as revealed in the brief 
diary of their leader, thrilled the whole civilized world. 
The men plod on day after day over those desolate tracts 
of snow and ice far from any human habitation. They 
are chilled through with the fierce cold and wet. Some of 
their comrades have sunk down on the way. One is 
raving, freezing outwardly, while the fever burns his 
brain. They strain their eyes for the ascending smoke 
that tells of rescue, but it never greets them. Some men 
might have said, Let us curse God and die," but not so 
these men. Now the Christian faith in God the Father 
Almighty," that they had learnt in childhood, shows what 
power it has to strengthen the heart in its hardest trials. 
In spite of every disaster, the diary tells us, they did not 
lose confidence in the God of their early days. They 
pray over the sick, they baptize the dying, they join in 
those very services of the Prayer Book which we join in 
day after day. And then, when they are too weak to do 



92 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



more, they stand under that open sky, on that cold and 
terrible waste, and recite together as an act of loving 
faith the Creed that reminds them of God's Fatherhood, 
His almightiness and His love, and they breathe together 
the prayer which Christ's own lips have taught us to use 
in all our needs. And so they sank down, one by one, 
with nothing to tell the story but the mute words of the 
pencilled diary. In spite of all, they died believing that 
God was good, and cared for them in the midst of His 
greatest chastisements. 

The Wonders of Creation. 

Sir Isaac Newton, the great English scientist, said, a 
little before he died, I seem to myself to have been only 
like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself 
in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier 
shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay 
all undiscovered before me." 

God's Footprints. 

How do you know there is a God? " said a scofifer to an 
Arab guide who was rising from his morning prayer. 

How did I know a camel passed my tent in the dark- 
ness but by the print of his hoof? " was the reply. " So," 
said he, pointing to the sunset, I know that yonder 
footprint is not man's, but God's." 

Providence among Nations. 

" A FEW drops of water, more or less," says Victor Hugo, 
prostrated Napoleon." He meant that the battle of 
Waterloo was begun at eleven o'clock in the morning, 



FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT. 



93 



because there was rain on the previous night, and Na- 
poleon could not move his artillery over the heavy mud- 
plain until near noon, and that five hours' delay turned 
the fate of Europe; for Bliicher did not arrive with his 
allies till the forces of the Iron Duke were all but de- 
feated. In the same spirit, wx believed, in the midst of 
our struggle, that nothing but Providence, immediately 
interfering in the crisis-hours of our destiny, could have 
saved us. You can never forget how, just at the nick 
of time, the little Monitor came down against that ter- 
rible monster, the Mcrrimac, which might have destroyed 
Washington, and raised the blockade. In Hampton 
Roads was fought that day a battle which revolutionised 
the navies of the world, while one great nation wept for 
joy, and all the nations wondered. 

God Seen in His Works. 

" To me the meanest flower that blows can give 
Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears." 

— Wordsworth. 

Trust in God's Care. 

There was once a Prime Minister who fussed and fretted 
very much over the state of the country. He almost 
fretted himself into a fever. At last his old servant went 
to him and asked him, " You believe in God, my lord? " 
Yes, the Prime Minister did. " You believe He cared for 
the world before you were born? " Yes." " And He 
will direct it after your death? " Yes, yes." The great 
man impatiently waved his servant away. But the old fel- 
low had one thing more to say. " Then can't you trust 
Him to manage it while you are in it? " 



94 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



" If God so Clothe the Grass." 

The celebrated African explorer, Mungo Park, tells us 
that once when lost in the desert, without food, help, or 
guide, he was ready to give way to despair, when his eye 
caught sight of the tender grace of a solitary little flower, 
and the thought rose into his heart that if God had so 
cared for this little blossom, nourished it in the wilder- 
ness, and clad it with colour and beauty, He would not 
fail to help His human child, lost in the desert. So com- 
forted, he rose up and struggled on till he found help! 

God Omniscient. 

A MAN went to steal corn from his neighbour's field. He 
took his little boy with him to keep a lookout, so as to 
give warning in case any one should come along. Be- 
fore commencing, he looked all around, first one way and 
then the other: and, not seeing any person, he was just 
about to fill his bag when his son cried out, " Father, 
there is one way you haven't looked yet! " The father 
supposed that some one was coming, and asked his son 
which way he meant. He answered. You forgot to 
look up! " The father, conscience-stricken, took his boy 
by the hand and hurried home without the corn which 
he had designed to take. 



FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT. 



JESUS CHRIST, HIS ONLY SON, OUR LORD. 

{See also Pabn Sunday and First Sunday in Advent.^ 

How a Beautiful Hymn was Written. 

There is an interesting incident in the life of the Rev. 
Charles Wesley, a clergyman of the Church of England, 
which led to the writing of one of his most beautiful 
hymns. One day Mr. Wesley was sitting by an open 
window looking out over the beautiful fields in summer 
time. Presently a little bird, flitting about in the sun- 
shine, attracted his attention. Just then a hawk came 
sweeping down toward the little bird. The poor thing, 
very much frightened, was darting here and there, trying 
to find some place of refuge. In the bright, sunny air, 
in the leafy trees, or the green fields there was no hiding- 
place from the fierce grasp of the hawk. But, seeing the 
open window, and the man sitting by it, the bird flew, in 
its extreme terror, towards it, and, with a beating heart 
and quivering wing, found refuge in Mr. Wesley's 
bosom. He sheltered it from the threatening danger, and 
saved it from a cruel death. Mr. Wesley was at the time 
sufifering from severe trials, and was feeling the need of a 
refuge in his ov/n time of trouble, as much as the trem- 
bHng little bird did, that nestled so safe in his bosom. 
So he took up his pen and wrote the hymn: 



FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT. 



97 



Jesu, lover of my soul, 

Let me to Thy bosom fly, 
While the waves of trouble roll, 
While the tempest still is high." 

That prayer grew into one of the most beautiful hymns 
in our language, and multitudes of people, when in sor- 
row and danger, have found comfort while they said or 
sung the last lines of that hymn: 

All my trust on Thee is stayed; 
All my help from Thee I bring; 
Cover my defenceless head 

With the shadow of Thy wing." 

Clinging to the Rock. 

One morning last summer I was standing in the shadow 
of a great rock by the seashore. It rose hundreds of feet 
towards the sky, its grey sides so steep and awful that it 
made me giddy to look up. Presently I saw, far above 
my head, little patches of something white and golden, 
and I soon found they were clusters of " moon " daisies 
which had taken root in tiny holes in the rock and flow- 
ered there, and their brave little heads up at that great 
height nodded as happily to the sunshine and the breeze 
as though they had been growing down in some low- 
lying, level field. The dark waves might break and toss 
on the rocky shore below, and the rough breeze come 
close up to them and shake them as if determined to 
carry them away, but the daisies had no fear. They were 
clinging to the rock, and that rock was stronger than the 
wind or the waves of the sea. So are all little children in 
the arms of Jesus. 
7 



98 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES, 



All for Jesus. 

" A SERVANT with this clause 
Makes drudgery divine; 
Who sweeps a room as for Thy laws 
Makes that and the action fine." 

— Herbert. 

The Love of God. 

A Scotch woman, named Elizabeth Davidson, had a son 
who was a convict, and ordered for transportation. In 
order that she might see him before he was sent from 
England, she travelled on foot, from her home in Dun- 
dee, a distance of five hundred and seventy miles; living 
on a pennyworth of potatoes and salt per day, with a lit- 
tle water to drink. Although compelled to sell many ar- 
ticles of her clothing on her journey, she resolutely pre- 
served to the last a copy of the New Testament which 
her son had asked her to give him. How wonderful this 
mother's love for her convict son! And yet His is 
greater, Who goes after the lost sheep until He finds it. 

The Power of Love. 

One day one of the gigantic eagles of Scotland carried 
away an infant, which was sleeping by the fireside in its 
mother's cottage. The whole village ran after it; but the 
eagle soon perched itself upon the loftiest eyrie, and 
every one despaired of the child being recovered. A 
sailor tried to climb the ascent, but his strong limbs 
trembled, and he was at last obliged to give up the at- 
tempt. A robust Highlander, accustomed to climb the 
hills, tried next, and even his limbs gave way, and he was 
in fact precipitated to the bottom. But, at last, a poor 
peasant woman came forward. She put her feet first on 



FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT. 



99 



one shelf of the rock, then on a second, and then on a 
third; and in this manner, amid the trembUng hearts of 
all who were looking on, she rose to the very top of the 
cHf¥, and at last, whilst the breasts of those below were 
heaving, came down step by step, until, amid the shouts 
of the villagers, she stood at the bottom of the rock with 
the child on her bosom. Why did that woman succeed, 
when the strong sailor and the practised Highlander had 
failed? Why, because between her and the babe there was 
a tie. That woman w^as the mother of the babe. Let 
there be love to Christ and to souls in your hearts, and 
greater wonders will be accomplished. 

"Greater Love hath no Man than this." 

Once a nobleman and his wife were travelling through a 
Russian forest, attended by a faithful servant. Presently 
the air was filled with terrible cries, and they knew that 
they were pursued by star\dng wolves. The master fired 
his only weapon, but the wolves came nearer and nearer. 

Give them one of the horses," cried the servant. It 
was done, and for a little time the wolves were checked. 
But again the savage pack was upon them, and the serv- 
ant said, There is but one hope of your safety. I will 
give myself to the wolves; you may yet have time to 
escape." So the servant, who loved his master, cast him- 
self to the wolves, and the travellers escaped. On that 
forest path the nobleman erected a pillar, with the words, 
" Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay 
down his life for his friends." 

" Our Lord." 

If Christ is really " our Lord," that is, our Master, we 
must obey every word and wish of His. In the cele- 



lOO 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



brated charge of the " Light Brigade " in the Crimean 
war, that heroic band of cavalry knew that the order was 
a mistake, that " some one had blundered." But they did 
not hesitate. They boldly went forward to meet the en- 
emy according to their duty, and so earned immortal 
fame. 

Their's not to make reply, 
Their's not to reason why, 
Their's but to do and die. 

Into the Valley of Death 

Rode the six hundred." 

That is the kind of obedience we, Christian soldiers, 
owe to Christ " our Lord." Only how much greater 
reason we have for obeying Him than for doing the com- 
mands of any earthly master! And of this we can be 
always sure, that in His commands there can be no mis- 
take, no blunder." 

" God is so Good." 

Haydn, the great musician, was once asked why his 
sacred music was so joyful. His answer was that it was 
Because God is so good, and I would set," he added, 
" even the 51st Psalm (the Miserere) in allegro." 

" His Banner over me was Love." 

During a war in Cuba an Englishman got somehow into 
trouble through trying to help some of the wounded. 
He was seized on suspicion of being a spy, condemned 
by the Spanish commander, and in spite of every efifort 
on his behalf, he was condemned to be shot. The Brit- 
ish Consul interfered, but all in vain. The man was led 



FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT. 



lOI 



out, his hands bound, and his eyes blindfolded, and he 
was commanded to kneel in front of the squad of soldiers 
detailed for his execution. At this supreme moment, the 
British Consul asked if he might speak to his country- 
man in case he had any last instructions to give. He 
advanced to the spot where the man was kneeling and 
with lightning rapidity drew out the English flag from 
his breast where he had it hidden, and folded it about the 
condemned man. " Now," he cried, " fire upon Eng- 
land's flag if you dare." The plan was successful. The 
mighty power of England was too well known to be pro- 
voked. The squad of riflemen was withdrawn, and the 
prisoner's life was spared. His country's " banner over 
him was love," and it saved him from a terrible death. 
The Cross of Christ is our banner. That is the flag of 
God's love. Trusting in that for your protection, the 
whole power of Heaven is on your side, and who dares 
strike or condemn you? 

Jesus the only Saviour. 

There is a parable told by a Chinese Christian which de- 
scribes how a man fell into a deep pit, and lay groaning 
and helpless. Presently Confucius, the great teacher of 
China, came by, and, seeing the man, said, How fool- 
ish of you to fall in here ! I am truly sorry for you, and 
let me give you this advice. If you ever get out of this 
pit, don't fall in again." Then a Buddhist priest from 
India passed by and said, " Poor fellow creature, if you 
can but struggle half way out, I could reach you and 
Hft you up." Next the Lord Jesus passed by, and hear- 
ing the man's groans, He had compassion on him and 
stooped down and stretched out His arms and lifted the 
man up, saying, " Go and sin no more." 



PALM SUNDAY. 



SUFFERED, CRUCIFIED. 



Christ Gave Himself for us. 

In 1481 the Aiistrians invaded Switzerland, and a com- 
paratively small number of men determined to resist 
them. Near the little town of Sempach the Austrians 
were observed advancing in a solid, compact body, pre- 
senting an mibroken line of spears. The Swiss met them, 
but their spears were shorter, and being much fewer in 
number, they were compelled to give way. Observing 
this, Arnold von Winkelried, seeing that all the efforts of 
the Swiss to break the ranks of their enemies had failed, 
exclaimed to his countrymen, " I will open a path to 
freedom! Protect, dear comrades, my wife and chil- 
dren! " He rushed forward, and, gathering in his arms 
as many spears as he could grasp, he buried them in his 
bosom. He fell, but a gap was made, and the Swiss 
rushed in and achieved an exceeding great victory. Ar- 
nold von Winkelried died, but saved his country. 



Christ Died for us. 

At the siege of Bridgenorth Castle, in the reign of Henry 
II., the king exposed himself to so much danger that he 
would have been slain if a faithful officer had not pre- 
ferred his sovereign's life to his own. While he was 



104 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



busied in giving orders near the wall, Hubert de St. 
Clare, constable or governor of Colchester Castle, seeing 
an arrow aimed at Henry, stepped before him and re- 
ceived it in his own breast. The wound was mortal; he 
expired in the arms of his master, recommending his 
daughter, an only child, and an infant, to the care of that 
prince. There is evidently here no comparison between 
the death of Christ for us, and the death of this faithful 
subject for a sovereign whom he loved. But suppose 
that the king had seen the arrow, and that it was aimed 
at the ofhcer; suppose, moreover, that the latter was a bad 
man, and every way undeserving of regard, and that the 
king out of compassion had voluntarily received the ar- 
row himself. Now, though such a case is almost incon- 
ceivable, this is no more than Christ has done for us, who 
saw the sword of divine justice ready to descend upon us, 
and stepped forward to receive it Himself in our stead. 

Christian Heroism. 

At the siege of Metz a wounded soldier was about to 
undergo a terrible operation. He saw that the chloro- 
form bottle was nearly empty. He turned and said, " M. 
le Docteur, I will do without it; those who have worse 
wounds will w^ant it more ; " then lay down, stuffed his 
handkerchief ipto his mouth, and said, " Be quick about 
it." 

Moral Courage. 

Two soldiers w-ere going to battle. One was pale and 
trembling, the other bold and defiant. " Comrade," said 
the second to his companion, " you are afraid." " Yes, I 
am," was the reply; " and if you were as much afraid as 
I am you would run away." 



PALM SUNDAY. 



True Courage. 

" Fear to do base, unworthy things, is valour; 
If they be done to us, to suffer them 
Is valour too." — Ben Jonson. 

" Looking unto Jesus." 

" I KNEW a lady who had to undergo a very terrible oper- 
ation, and the doctors feared the first sight of the prepa- 
rations might overpower her. She asked, however, to 
be allowed to hold a picture of Christ crucified in her 
hand, and so strengthened, she bore all, ' looking unto 
Jesus.' " 

" The Mind of Christ." 

The late Archdeacon Hare was once, when tutor of 
Trinity College, Cambridge, giving a lecture, when a cry 
of " Fire " was raised. Away rushed his pupils, and form- 
ing themselves into a line between the building, which 
was close at hand, and the river, passed buckets from one 
to another. The tutor quickly following, found them 
thus engaged. At the end of the line one youth was 
standing up to his waist in the river; he was delicate and 
looked consumptive. "What!" cried Mr. Hare, you 
in the water. Sterling, you; so liable to take cold?" 
"Somebody must be in it," the youth answered; "why 
not I, as well as another? " The spirit of this answer is 
that of all great and generous doing. Cowardice and 
coldness, too, say, " Oh, somebody will do it," and the 
speaker sits still; he is not the one to do what needs do- 
ing. But nobility of character, looking at necessary 
things, says, " Somebody must do it; why not I?" And 
the deed is done. 



io6 FIVE HUNDRED STORIES, 

" Marks of the Lord Jesus." 

Among the Romans slaves were branded with the 
marks " or names of their masters. S. Paul tells us in 
Gal. vi. 17 that he bears in his body these marks of his 
Master. Such were the weals made by the Roman lictor's 
rods, with which he was " thrice beaten the red lines of 
those two hundred stripes which had been laid on him 
in the Jewish synagogues; the scars left by the stones 
which had bruised and beaten him down, and left him 
for dead." These marks of the Lord Jesus he carried 
with him, the proofs as to " whose he was, and whom he 
served/' 

" He Gave Himself for me." 

An American writer tells a pathetic anecdote of his stroll- 
ing into a cemetery one day, and finding a thoughtful- 
looking farmer planting some flowers on a grave. It 
bore on the headstone a name and date, and the words 
" He died for me." The explanation he received was 
that in the war between North " and South " the farm- 
er, who had a sickly wife and several children, was 
drafted for the army. True, he might have got another 
to take his place, but he could not afford to pay the sum 
required. With a heavy heart he was preparing for his 
start, when a young friend came in and said, It is hard 
for you to leave your wife and many children, who must 
suffer from poverty when you have gone; I will go in 
your place." He went, but was struck by a bullet in the 
first battle, came back to linger long in the hospital, and 
was buried in that spot! " I have worked hard," said his 
friend, " to earn enough to come and see the place where 
he lies buried, and to add a few flowers to the tombstone, 
for he took my place, and died for me! " 



PALM SUNDAY, 



107 



The Power of Sacrifice. 

No one can make sacrifice for another, without estab- 
Hshing a new bond of interest between them. A boy is 
rescued from death, and, ever after, he loves to tell, 
" That man once saved my life." The rescuer, too, feels 
a special interest in the one he has saved. 

Christ's Sacrifice. 

We have read of Leonidas and his brave three hundred 
stopping the ravaging march of the Persians at Ther- 
mopylae, and devoting themselves to the salvation of their 
country. We have read of the King of the Locrians, 
who, when his son had broken the laws, the demand of 
which was that both eyes should be put out, mitigated 
the punishment by giving, in exchange for one of them, 
an eye of his own; thus enduring, self-devotedly, a part 
of the sufifering allotted to his child. We have read of the 
queen who sucked the poison from the wound of the king 
her consort, though convinced that death would be the 
consequence of her heroic act. And numerous have been 
the instances wherein soldiers have caught the death- 
blows intended for their commanders — not merely risk- 
ing, but devoting, their own lives for the salvation of a life 
which they held to be more important than their own. 
And is such conduct reprobated by the general mass of 
mankind? Far from it. Why, then, should the sacrifice 
of Christ be? 

Wearing the Cross. 

In Alexandria in Egypt at one time fine ladies used to go 
to church wearing a copy of the Holy Gospels round 
their neck. But their lives showed that they did not 



io8 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



wear the yoke of Christ. History repeats itself, and in 
these days we find people wearing crosses of gold who 
seldom remember the bitter wood of Calvary. 

" Look and be Saved." 

Hundreds of years before Christ hung on the Cross a 
very strange thing happened. It was while the Israelites 
were journeying through the wilderness; they had been 
murmuring against God, and He sent fiery serpents 
among them that bit them so they died. Then they re- 
membered Him in their trouble and asked Moses to 
plead for them; and God listened, and told him to do this 
strange thing: To take brass, and make it just like the 
serpents that had bitten them, hang it on a high pole, 
and set it in the midst of the camp, so that every one 
could look upon it; and every one who looked lived. 
Now, suppose you had been one of those Jewish children 
there in the wilderness, and a serpent had darted at you in 
your play and left a fiery sting in your arm, so that you 
seemed burning up, and your head ached, and you felt so 
sick you had thrown yourself down to die; and then you 
heard Moses' voice ringing out over your head, " Look 
and be saved! look and live! " and then you looked at 
this brazen serpent, and at once the fear and pain all left 
you as you looked, and you felt strong, and well, and 
cool, and ready to jump and run about as in the early 
morning. Would you not want every one in the camp 
that you saw lying on the ground in pain to know this 
too? Would you not run from one sick one to another, 
and cry, " Lift your head and look! Only look quick 
before you die "? What has this to do with missionary 
work? I will tell you. One day when Jesus was teach- 
ing, He said, " As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wil- 



PALM SUNDAY. 



109 



derness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that 
whosoever beHeveth in Him should not perish, but have 
eternal life." So that we, who can look back, know this 
scene in the wilderness was just a picture of that other 
scene on Calvary where Jesus was crucified — lifted up — 
so that every one who has been bitten by sin, and who is 
dying, may be saved by looking at Him. " Look unto 
Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth." That is 
what Christ is saying from the Cross. But how are " all 
the ends of the earth " to know that message unless we 
who have been healed go, or send others, to tell them? 

"While we were yet Sinners." 

There was a poor, ignorant man once who had lived in 
sin and utter forgetfulness of God. As a child he had 
heard something of the love of Jesus, but as a man he 
lived without God in the world. The only thing he 
loved, or cared for, was his dog, and by and by he was 
unable to pay the tax, and was told he must pay, or get 
rid of the dog; so he determined to drown his faithful 
companion. Arriving at the water-side, the man seized 
the dog, and in spite of its pleading looks cast it into the 
river, and held it down, even beating its head with a 
stone. Suddenly he overbalanced himself, and fell for- 
wards into the deep water. There, as he sank helpless 
for the last time, he felt himself seized and dragged 
towards the shore, and on reaching it he found it was his 
dog, with bleeding head and sad, loving eyes, which had 
saved his life. On the sick-bed, from which he never 
rose, that rough, half-heathen man told the story of his 
rescue, and how the devotion of the dog had brought to 
his mind for the first time the love of Jesus in saving 
those who were His murderers. 



no 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



" For us Men." 

During the war between the Northern and Southern 
States of America, it happened one day that General 
Lee went out, spyglass in hand, to observe an outpost of 
the enemy. As he stood on a slightly rising knoll the sol- 
diers gathered round him in a little crowd, which gather- 
ing soon caught the notice of the foe, and a shower of 
bullets began to whiz through the air. Lee ordered his 
men to retreat behind some shelter, but, with his wonted 
contempt for danger, stayed last. Just as he was slowly 
retiring he was observed to stoop down; he had found a 
little sparrow which had fallen out of its nest, and which, 
unable to fly, lay helpless on the ground. Regardless of 
the bullets, he picked it up, took it to the neighbouring 
tree, and, having searched for the nest, replaced it in its 
home, and then walked away quietly, as though not heed- 
ing the fire of the enemy. Surely we may see in the kind- 
ness to a little bird, which he showed at the risk of his 
life, a faint reflection of that Divine compassion which 
made the Son of God stoop down and at, not the risk^ 
but the price of His life, seek to save a perishing world! 



EASTER DAY. 



THE THIRD DAY HE ROSE, ETC. 

[See also Second Sunday after Easter.) 

Symbols of the Resurrection. 

" Spring," says Professor Gaussen, is the season when 
all the winged insects, the bees, the cochineals, the but- 
terflies, the grasshoppers, the Maybugs, the beautiful silk- 
worms, and the voracious locusts, issue in myriads from 
their cells, their aurelias, their cocoons, and their chrysa- 
lids. Behold that wonderful insect, that light and grace- 
ful inhabitant of the air, which in our gardens resem- 
bles a flying flower, and by the elegance of its shape and 
the splendour of its colours forms the delight of our eyes. 
What was it at first, and what has it become? It was at 
first a crawling insect, a loathsome caterpillar. Some 
weeks or some months ago it seemed to die. It was seen 
to grow pale, to change colour; then to stop eating and 
moAdng, and afterwards to shut itself up in a kind of 
sepulchre; to get rid of its eyes, its mouth, and even its 
head and feet, and become like a corpse wrapt in a wind- 
ing-sheet, or a mummy in the catacombs, which had 
been plunged in bitumen and rolled up in bands. Nay, 
more, before yielding to death it buried itself in the 
earth, and took the precaution even to lay itself out upon 



EASTER DAY. 



113 



a bier; and there it might have been seen in its foUicle, 
as the bodies of embalmed Egyptians have been dis- 
covered in their coffins of sycamore. But, as soon as it 
has felt the quickening breath of spring, how surprising 
the change which it undergoes by the power of God! 
Would it be said that it is the same creature? Yes, it is 
the same, and yet it is not the same! It has torn asunder 
its winding-sheet, it has broken its bier, and it has been 
seen rising up to newness of life, a creature, aerial, 
winged, glorious, radiant with beauty, endued with new 
senses and new faculties, to seek in a higher element 
purer food and nobler enjoyments. This new creature 
appears to have retained none of the humiliations and 
miseries of its old condition. The abject caterpillar 
which was buried, and the happy winged animal seen 
rising from it, seem to you entirely different; the living 
one reminds you of that which was dead only by con- 
trast. The first crawled upon the ground, like us, unceas- 
ingly exposed to a thousand accidents; the other soars 
into the air, and disdains, as it were, to light upon the 
earth from which it sprang. The first shocked our sight 
by its disgusting appearance; the second, adorned with 
the richest colours, is the delight of our eyes. The first 
was blind; the second is furnished with the most marvel- 
lous eyes, resembling, by their innumerable and brilliant 
fades, richly cut diamonds. It has even acquired, as 
some suppose, a new sense in its antennae; it enjoys a 
thousand sensations of which it formerly knew nothing. 
The first nourished itself on gross and common aliment; 
but this, since its resurrection, is seen flying from flower 
to flower, living upon honey and dew, rejoicing in the 
freedom of nature, forming even its ornament, and glad- 
dened by the purest joys." 



8 



114 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES, 



"Liberty to the Captives." 

When the abolition of slavery was declared in the West 
Indies, to take effect at sunrise on a certain day (August 
I, 1838), the slaves climbed the hills the night before and 
waited and watched for the morning rays. There the} 
kept their eyes on the eastern horizon to catch the first 
streaks of daylight, and as the sun peeped into sight 
these slaves sprang to their feet with the cry, We are 
free! we are free! " and the cry rang dow^n the valleys and 
among the huts of the emancipated. How much more 
Easter morning has done for us! 

"The Power of His Resurrection." 

In the German city of Hanover there is a tomb in what 
they sweetly call " God's Acre," ancient and neglected. 
The remains of one of the old nobility repose there. The 
stones are huge, and were clamped and dowelled. This 
is a part of the inscription: This grave, bought for all 
time, must never be opened." But a little seed found 
lodgment in a crevice, and now there is a stout birch 
there, which has spurned the stones, forced the iron, and 
pierced the grave in triumph. That tells me of the life 
which shall be victorious over death, of which we know 
in Jesus " and the power of His Resurrection." 

" Christ the First-fruits." 

Just as the first ripe ears of corn which grew on the 
plains and the mountain sides of Palestine were immedi- 
ately brought into the Temple and waved before the Lord 
as a pledge that every ear of corn growing in Palestine 
should be safely reaped and gathered in, so the resurrec- 



EASTER DAY. 



115 



tion of Christ is a proof and pledge that we, His people, 
shall be raised from the dead even as Christ rose. 

" Declared to be the Son of God with Power." 

At the time of the French Revolution, when Christianity 
was abolished, some philosophers set up a religion of 
morality, charity, and love, on philosophic grounds, but 
soon found that " it would not work." " Why can't I 
get people to believe in my religion? " said one of its ad- 
vocates to Talleyrand. " It is very easy to do so," said 
Talleyrand, who was a master of the art of sarcasm. 

You have only first to get yourself crucified, or anyhow 
to be put to death, and then at your own time rise from 
the dead, and you will have no difficulty whatever." 

" Christ is Risen ! " 

On the night preceding Easter day, the Russian churches 
are densely thronged with the people, standing in dark- 
ness, holding unlighted candles, silent, expectant. When 
the midnight hour has struck, then from far away outside 
the church a plaintive strain of music is heard, a thrill 
goes through the assembly; the music approaches, waxes 
louder, sounding more joyous. The great western doors 
roll back, and light appears flowing into the church, at- 
tended by jubilant song. The procession of choir and 
clergy are entering with light and incense, in gorgeous 
robes, a train of light and colour, of music and fragrance. 
Instantly the light is caught from the entering tapers, 
and runs in sparks through the church, flying from can- 
dle to candle, and every worshipper stands with his candle 
burning, so that the vast gloomy interior is suddenly a 
palace of glory. But this is not all. At the same moment 



Ii6 FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 

each turns to his neighbour, exclaiming: " Christ is 
risen!" and kisses him. Christ is risen, love is shed 
abroad, all men are brothers! 

" He Lives and will Live." 

The early Christians called their burying grounds 
cemeteries," which means sleeping places." In Rome 
some of those ancient cemeteries are away far under 
ground and are called catacombs. On the walls of these 
catacombs are many epitaphs, some very beautiful. One 
of these is exceedingly short. It is this : Tentianus vivit; 
that is, " Tentianus lives." That seems, perhaps, strange 
to put over a grave, yet it is perfectly true. The body of 
that Christian is resting there in his cemetery or sleeping 
place, but his soul is still alive in Paradise, and some day 
it will return, and his body will awake out of its long 
sleep, and both will live as they never did before. 

" He has Emigrated." 

There was once a great painter called Albert Diirer. 
He lies buried in his native city of Nuremberg, in Ger- 
many, and on his tombstone they have put the single 
word Emigravit, "He has gone to another country." 
That is all; he has emigrated, but he will return, and 
Christ will restore and beautify for him that body which 
lies waiting in the tomb. 



FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 



THE RESURRECTION OF DEAD SOULS. 

" A Living Soul." 

Statues and paintings have been executed with such ex- 
quisite skill, that the canvas and the block of marble ap- 
pear almost to have acquired animation. Instances are 
recorded where the power of genius has succeeded to 
such a degree that it was only on approaching near that 
you found that the object before you was not a living per- 
son, but only the representative of one. You are filled 
with astonishment at the power which could call forth 
such beautiful creations; but no art, no skill of man ever 
has or ever can supply what is defective, the breath of 
life, which He only can give who first made " a living 
soul." 

"Alive unto God." 

In a small but beautiful valley stand two trees at a short 
distance from each other. One is scathed and dead, and 
its withered arms resemble most a decayed monument. 
The other is full of life, and the verdure and beauty with 
which it is clothed render it the ornament of the place. 
Yet both have equal advantages; they are of the same 
age, they are planted upon the banks of the same river, 
they are sheltered by the same hills, they have the same 
sun, and the same fertile soil. Such is the difference 



FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER, 119 

between those who rightly receive the grace of God, and 
those who enjoy the same outward advantages, and yet 
do not profit by them; the one are aUve to God, the other 
are spiritually dead. 

Sign of a True Conversion. 

A SERVANT girl was once asked if she were converted. 
She replied: "Whether I am converted or no I cannot 
tell; but this I do know, that now / ahvays sweep under 
the mats.'' 

Christ's Salvation. 

A Christian Indian was one day asked: "What has 
Christ done for you? " He took a worm and placed it on 
the path; then collecting some straw, he put it in a circle 
round the w^orm and set fire to it. The worm began to 
feel the heat, and endeavoured to escape, but without 
avail, for the fire was round it. Then the Indian took 
away part of the blazing circle and the w^orm crept out. 
" That," he said, is what Christ has done for me. The 
flames of hell were gathering round me when Jesus came 
and set me free." 

Christ our Life. 

Overhead, hanging some fifteen or twenty feet from the 
ground, and running down the centre of the street on 
standards, is a wire. A dead and helpless thing you 
deem it : but see, under it is standing a tramcar laden wath 
people and with no power of motion in itself. Presently 
this tramcar stretches up what is called a trolley," a 
kind of iron arm. which evidently aims at contact with 
the apparently dead wire above. No sooner does this 
trolley, this arm of faith we might call it. touch the wdre 
than a hidden force in that wire, of w^hich we had been 



120 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



entirely ignorant as outside spectators, seizes hold of it, 
and immediately the car with all that it contains goes 
swiftly along the level street, or up a steep incline, borne 
onward by a power that is not its own. Just so do we 
stand, helpless and hopeless, without Christ; His presence 
unseen, unfelt, and unsought. But once let the hand go 
up to the unseen Power ready to bless and help and re- 
deem each one that asks it, and the life that was dead in 
trespasses and sins before, becomes alive with activity in 
the service of man, and with the beauty of the holiness 
of God. 

"Liberty to the Captives.'* 

In the beautiful island of Capri, in the Bay of Naples, 
there is a very touching custom on Easter Day. The 
people bring caged birds to the church, and while the 
choir is singing about Christ's work of freeing " the souls 
in prison," the imprisoned songsters are set at liberty. 

Hidden Life. 

" There is a day in spring 
When under all the earth the secret germs 
Begin to stir and glow before they bud. 
The wealth and festal pomp of midsummer 
Lie in the heart of that inglorious hour 
Which no man names with blessing, though its work 
Is blessed by all the world. Such days there are 
In the slow story of the growth of souls." 

— Smedley, 
The New Birth in Baptism. 

A Persian emperor once asked a grey-haired old man, 
" How old art thou? " " Just about four years," was his 
reply. He counted only the years of his regenerated life. 



FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 121 



Unburied Dead. 

There are many dead people in the world who are not 
yet buried: there are thousands who have been dead 
many years, and do not know it. When a man's heart is 
cold and indifferent about religion, when his hands are 
never employed in doing God's work, when his heart is 
never familiar with His ways, when his tongue is seldom 
used in prayer and praise, when his ears are deaf to the 
voice of Christ in the gospel, when his eyes are blind to 
the beauty of heaven, when his mind is full of the world, 
and has no room or time for spiritual things — then a 
man is dead. Unless he wakes up from this deathly 
sleep and asks Christ for life, he must die eternally. 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 



THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. 
[See also Easter Day.) 

Belief of the Heathen. 

The heathen sorrowed without hope. A shattered pil- 
lar; a ship gone to pieces; a race lost; a harp lying on the 
ground with snapped strings, with all its music lost; a 
fiower-bud crushed with all its fragrance in it — these were 
the sad utterances of their hopeless grief. The thought 
that death was the gate of life came not in to cheer the 
parting or brighten the sepulchre. The truth that the 
grave was the soil, and the body the seed sown by God's 
hand to call out all the latent life; that the race was not 
lost, but only a little earlier won; that the column was 
not destroyed, but transferred to another building and 
another city, to be a pillar in the temple of God; that the 
bud was not crushed, but transplanted, for fuller expan- 
sion, and w^ith all its odour unexhaled and unimpaired, 
to a kindlier soil and air; that the harp was not broken, 
nor its music spoilt and lost, but handed up to a truer 
minstrel, who, with a finer touch and heavenlier skill, will 
bring out all the rich compass of its hidden music, which 
man would not have appreciated, and which earth would 
but have spoiled — these were things which had no place 



SECOND SUNDA V AFTER EASTER. 



in their theology, hardly in their dreams. They sorrowed 
as those who had no hope. 

The Great Gathering. 

" All that are in their graves shall hear His voice; " no 
grave may refuse to give up its dead. There have been 
some singular graves made in the world, and extraordi- 
nary pains taken to conceal them; but they, as well as the 
most ordinary receptacles of the dead, must give up their 
dead. Alaric, king of the Goths, had a curious grave. 
Did you ever hear of his singular grave? He had be- 
sieged and levied an enormous tribute upon Rome, and 
was proceeding to Sicily, when he died suddenly. It is 
related that his victorious army caused their captives to 
turn aside the course of the river Busentinus, to make his 
grave in the bed of the river; and then, when they had 
buried him in it, and restored the waters to their former 
channel, they slew upon the spot all who had been en- 
gaged in the work, that none might tell the secret to the 
Romans. Neither will Attila's numerous coffins confine 
him in the grave. He also was a great conqueror at the 
head of barbarous tribes. History tells us that he was 
buried in a wide plain, in a coffin enclosed in one of gold, 
another of silver, and a third of iron; that with his body 
was interred an immense amount of treasure; and that 
the spot might for ever remain unknown, those who 
buried him were killed. But at the Judgment-day he 
will come forth from his grave, and give an account of 
all his bloody victories. 

Legend of the Snowdrop. 

When Eve was banished from Paradise, so the old story 
goes, she found the world outside all covered with snow, 



124 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



and not a flower to be seen. Sadly she wept over the cold 
earth for the lost beautiful flowers of Paradise. Then an 
angel appeared to her, and catching a snowflake in his 
hand, he breathed upon it, and it became a flower, the 
little flower we call the snowdrop, the first of all the 
year. That flower may remind us then of Christ, the 
first begotten from the dead." As the little white flower 
encouraged Eve, so will Christ's resurrection encourage 
us by reminding us of the great harvest of flowers and 
fruits that are sure to follow that beginning. 

Emblem of the Resurrection. 

A VASE closely sealed was found in a mummy-pit in 
Egypt by the English traveller Wilkinson, who sent it to 
the British Museum. The librarian, having unfortunately 
broken it, discovered in it a few peas, old, wrinkled, and 
as hard as a stone. The peas were planted carefully 
under a glass, on the 4th of June, 1844, and at the end of 
thirty days these seeds were seen to spring up into new 
life. They had been buried probably about three thou- 
sand years ago, perhaps in the time of Moses, and had 
slept all that time, apparently dead yet still living, in the 
dust of the tomb. If God can do this with peas, why not 
with our bodies? 

" Resurgam." 

When S. Paul's Cathedral was about to be rebuilt, a 
stone was wanted to which to fix a line and thus mark 
out the centre of the future dome. A labourer brought 
a piece of a broken tombstone, on which, by a happy co- 
incidence, there was inscribed the prophetic word " Re- 
surgam " — " I shall rise again." Sir Christopher Wren, 
the great architect, hailed the omen with pleasure, and, 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 125 



taking it as a centre, he planned out the position of the 
noble church which was to take the place of the ruins 
around. So, as we watch the dead body of man laid in 
the grave, the Church wdiispers with hope, " It shall rise 
again." For We know that if our earthly house of this 
tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God 
. . . For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be 
clothed upon with our house which is from heaven " (2 
Cor. V. 1,2). 

Christ the Restorer. 

One day Faraday, the great chemist, accidentally 
dropped a small silver cup into a jar of powerful acid. 
The cup was rapidly dissolved by the acid, and wholly 
disappeared from sight. The question was asked could 
it be found and restored. Some thought not, but Fara- 
day put some chemical into the acid which made the 
silver held by it to fall to the bottom of the jar. There it 
lay, at first in a shapeless mass, but when it was given 
into the hands of the silversmith the cup was restored to 
its original form. And surely God can do this and more 
for man's body. 

Birth more Wonderful than Resurrection. 

Every moment human beings with bodies and souls 
which never existed before are coming into life. Thou- 
sands are alive to-day who were not alive a year ago. 
There are 1,400,000,000 of people on the earth to-day, 
and yet 150 years ago not one of them was alive! What 
greater or more wonderful exercise of God's creative 
power can we have than this? Birth is really more won- 
derful than restoring life to a body which once possessed 
it, just as it requires more skill and power to design and 



126 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



build a house than it does to rebuild one that has been 
overthrown. Why, then, should we doubt God's power to 
do that which requires apparently less power and skill 
than that which He is doing constantly before our eyes? 
Birth is the giving of absolutely new life. Resurrection, 
or the second birth," as our Lord calls it, is only the 
restoration of a life that once existed. 

Resurrection may be Unwelcome. 

Mr. Moffatt was preaching upon the resurrection, 
when Macaba, a notorious chief, cried out, " What are 
those words about the dead? — the dead arise? " " Yes," 
said the missionary; "all the dead shall arise." ''Will 
my father arise?" "Yes," answered the missionary. 
"Will all the slain in battle arise?" "Yes," answered 
the missionary. " Will all that have been killed and 
eaten by lions, tigers, and crocodiles, arise? " " Yes, and 
come to judgment." " Hark! " shouted the chief, turn- 
ing to the warriors. " Ye wise men, did your ears ever 
hear such strange and unheard-of news? Did you ever 
hear such news as this?" turning to an old man, the 
wise man of his tribe. " Never! " answered the old man. 
The chief then turned to the missionary, and said, 
" Father, I love you much; but the words of a resurrec- 
tion are too great for me. I do not wish to hear about 
the dead rising again. The dead cannot rise; the dead 
shall not rise! " " Tell me, my friend, why not," said the 
missionary. "I have slain my thousands: shall they 
arise? " 

Monica's Faith in God's Power. 

When Monica, the devout and gentle mother of the 
great S. Augustine, was on her death-bed at Ostia in 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 127 



Italy, far from her native Africa, some of her friends 
asked her " whether she were not afraid to leave her 
body so far from her own city?" "No," she repHed, 
''nothing is far to God; nor," she added, "is it to be 
feared lest at the end of the world He should not know 
from what place He had to raise me up." 

Buddha and Christ. 

A YOUNG mother once came to Gautama, the Buddha 
and founder of Buddhism, carrying her dead child in her 
arms. Some one had told her that Gautama could give 
her medicine to bring back her boy to life. *' Lord and 
Master," she said, " do you know any medicine that will 
be good for my child?" "Yes, I know of some," he 
replied. "You must get some mustard seed," he said; 
and when the poor mother eagerly promised to bring 
some of so common a drug, he added, " You must get it 
from some house where no son, or husband, or parent, or 
slave has died." " Very good," she said, and went to ask 
for it, still carrying her dead child with her. But at every 
house where she inquired, one said, " I have lost a son," 
another " I have lost a parent," or another " I have lost 
a slave." At length in her despair she left her dead child 
in a forest and returned to the Buddha, but all the comfort 
he could give her in sorrow was to talk to her about the 
changefulness of human life. How differently Christ 
did when the widow of Nain was carrying her dead son 
to his grave, and when Martha and Mary told Him 
about the death of their brother Lazarus. Buddha says, 
" I can do nothing for you." Christ says, " I can do all 
things. I am the Resurrection and the Life." 



THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 



DEAD, BURIED, DESCENDED. 

" He shall Carry Nothing away with him when he 
Dieth." 

A FOX once saw, through a sHt in a wall, a beautiful 
garden which he tried to enter, but found himself unable 
to pass through the narrow opening. He fasted three 
days, and became so reduced that he was able to get in. 
Then he roamed about and feasted at his pleasure. But 
after some days the thought struck him, " What if the 
owner of the garden were to come! I must make haste 
to escape before I am caught." So saying, he hastened to 
the opening by which he entered, but found that he had 
grown so fat and plump that he could no longer pass 
through it. He was obliged, as at first, to fast three days, 
and then with difficulty he crawled out. As soon as he 
was out of danger he exclaimed, " Garden, garden, thou 
art indeed charming, but of what profit art thou to me? 
After all my labour am I not as lean as before? " — Tal- 
mtid. 

"What Next?" 

One day Alexander, the young King of Macedon, met 
Diogenes, the old Greek philosopher. "What are your 
plans, thou royal youth? " inquired the old man. " First, 
9 



I30 FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 

I shall consolidate my sway over our noble Greeks; then 
I shall lead my gallant soldiers across the Hellespont; 
then the mighty empire of Persia shall submit to my 
Macedonian Phalanx." What next? " said Diogenes. 

Then becoming Emperor of the whole East, I shall 
push on and conquer India." " What next? " Then I 
shall return, and, going Westward, extend my sceptre's 
power to the Pillars of Hercules and the setting of the 
sun." And what next? " I shall reign in imperial 
splendour over the whole world! " " And then? " But 
Alexander was silent, for he could not help perceiving 
that death must close the most brilliant of martial 
careers. 

True Preparation for Death. 

When condemned to be executed. Sir Walter Raleigh 
was asked by the executioner which way he would lay 
his head. He replied, So the heart be right, it is no 
matter which way the head lies." 

Two Death-beds. 

A QUEEN of England is dying, surrounded by her at- 
tendants. W^hat are the last words they hear her speak 
as she passes over the brink of eternity? "All my pos- 
sessions for a moment of time! " Now look on another 
picture. Kvi English admiral lies wounded unto death. 
The decks are slippery with blood, and the air dark with 
smoke; but the sound of many voices is heard; it is the 
British shout of victory. The dying hero clasps the hand 
of his friend, and murmurs, " Now I am satisfied; thank 
God, I have done my duty." Our ending of this life 
must be like one or other of these. 



THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 131 



The First Five Minutes after Death." 

An old East Indian officer, who had returned to Eng- 
land, was once telling his friends about some of the won- 
derful things that he had seen during his long life. After 
describing great battles, and sieges, and hairbreadth es- 
capes, at last he paused and said, " I expect to see some- 
thing much more remarkable than anything I have been 
describing." As he was seventy years of age, and not 
likely to return to India, his listeners failed to catch his 
meaning. There was another pause, and then he said in 
an undertone, " I mean in the first five minutes after 
death." 

"This Night." 

Gibbon, the infidel historian, reckoned one morning that 
he had at least fifteen years to live. That very night he 
died. 

A Sermon in Every Death. 

Archbishop Leighton was once asked by a friend, as 
he was returning homewards, if he had been to a sermon. 
I met a sermon," was the answer, for I met a funeral." 

"Memento Mori." 

It is recorded of Saladin, the great Sultan of Syria, that 
every evening in his camp an officer on horseback 
lifted up a black shroud as a standard upon a lance, while 
one of two mollahs made proclamation, " Saladin, king 
of kings, Saladin, conqueror of conquerors, Saladin must 
die," and the other made response, Extolled be the per- 



132 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



fection of the Living One Who dieth not." The slave in 
the chariot of a Roman general during a triumph, with 
his repeated phrase, Remember that thou art a man," 
was not so impressively solemn a warning as this. 

Death Everywhere. 

If any one has visited Rome, he will remember — for 
none who have travelled thither can forget the scene — 
the long street of tombs which forms one of the ap- 
proaches to the Eternal City. For miles on the road, 
these monuments, erected over the departed, stand on 
either side of the way, at brief but uncertain intervals, 
until the traveller reaches the gate. Exactly thus it is 
with us on our pilgrimage to that city which hath founda- 
tions, whose Builder and Maker is God; on every hand 
we are reminded of our mortality, until we, in our turn, 
fall by the wayside, and swell the number of the dead. 



" Death in the Midst of Life." 

Leaves have their time to fall. 

And flowers to wither at the North-wind's breath, 
And stars to set; — but all, 

Thou hast all seasons for thine own, O Death." 

— Hemans. 



Friends in Paradise, 

** *Tis sweet, as year by year we lose 
Friends out of sight, in faith to muse 
How grows in Paradise our store." 

—Kehle, 



THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. i 



The Beauty of Paradise. 

" If God hath made this world so fair, 
Where sin and death abound, 
How beautiful beyond compare 
Will Paradise be found!" 

— Montgomery. 



FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 



HE ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN. 
Look up. 

I REMEMBER oncc being among the mountains, and hav- 
ing to cHmb along a narrow goat-path, in the face of a 
precipice. You clung to the little, stunted bushes that 
grow out of the sides, and so hung over a yawning depth 
below. One false step, one uncertain grasp of the- 
branches, and you would have been dashed in pieces. I 
looked down beneath, and said something to the guide 
about the depth. Yes," he said, " but never look down; 
look up: look up to the sky; if you look down, a hundred 
to one but you will become giddy and fall ; if you look up, 
you never can. You must be safe while you fix your eyes 
on the skies." 

Hope of Heaven, 

A FISHING net must have pieces of lead fastened to its 
lower edge to keep it down in the water, and pieces of 
cork at the top to keep it from sinking. Holy fear of 
God is like the bad which keeps us from floating in pre- 
sumption. Hope of Heaven is like the cork which keeps 
us from sinking in despair. The net would be useless 
without both cork and lead. Our lives will be failures if 
we have not both fear and hope. 



FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 135 



Looking Heavenward. 

There were no windows made in the sides of the Ark 
whereby to look out on the raging waters. There was 
but one window, and that was in the roof, through which 
to look up to Heaven. 

"Looking unto Jesus." 

When King Henry of Navarre fought the battle of Ivry, 
he told his soldiers to watch the white plume on his hel- 
met, and follow wherever it led. So in our battle with 
the devil, the world, and the flesh, our motto must be, 
" Looking unto Jesus." 

" He Looked up Stedfastly into Heaven." 

That is what is said of the martyr Stephen (Acts vii. 55). 
It was that sight which gave him courage. Sir Henry 
Lawrence, the great hero of Lucknow, found the same 
experience in the midst of the awful scenes through 
which he passed during the " Mutiny." The natives of 
India used to say that when Sir Henry looked twice to 
heaven and then to earth, he knew exactly what to do." 

"Set your Affection on Things Above." 

A PASSENGER chauccd to go on deck one morning while 
the captain was teaching his young son to climb to the 
mast-head. The boy had gone bravely up, while his 
father stood watching and encouraging him. At last he 
began to descend, and while doing so he looked down. 
The captain noted the action, and also saw that his boy 
was getting giddy and was then in the greatest danger of 



136 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



falling. ''Look up!" he at once shouted to the boy, 
look up!" Raising his face to the skies, the youth 
obeyed and came down safely. He might have fallen 
and been killed," said the passenger to the captain after- 
ward. No, he was safe enough as long as he looked 
up," was the reply. Safe as long as he looked up." 

The Glories of Heaven. 

In one of Raphael's great pictures, S. Cecilia, the patron 
saint of music, and the singers round her have caught 
sound of the music of heaven, and, as some look down 
and listen in profound thought, and others look up in 
rapt wonder and ecstasy, their instruments fall from 
their hands and lie broken at their feet. 

"Steps to Heaven." 

"What are the steps to Heaven?" it was asked of S. 
Augustine. The first is humility'' answered the great 
theologian, and the second, and the third." So, too, the 
lark that rises highest in the air to sing its sweet song 
builds its nest upon the ground. God resisteth the 
proud, but giveth grace to the humble." 

Short-sightedness. 

Men of science tell us that shortness of sight is greatly 
on the increase amongst us, especially with those who 
live in great cities. The reason for this is that the city 
dwellers wear out their eyesight by looking constantly 
on objects close to them, without having any wider or 
more distant prospect. So it is with our spiritual sight. 
We wear it out by fixing our eyes on some worldly 



FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 



137 



object close to us. One man has grown short-sighted by 
gazing day after day at his money bags, till he can see 
nothing else; and another has studied his ledger and 
cash book till he has no eyes left for God's fair Heaven 
above him, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. 



FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 

AND SITTETH ON THE RIGHT HAND, ETC. 

Christ's Intercession. 

Aeschylus was condemned to death by the Athenians, 
and was about to be led to execution. His brother 
Amyntas had signahsed himself in the service of his 
country, and in a day of most illustrious victory, in a 
great measure obtained by his means, had lost his hand. 
He came into court just as his brother was condemned, 
and without saying anything exposed the stump of his 
arm from under his garment, and held it up in their 
sight. The historian tells us that when the judges saw 
this mark of suf¥ering, they remembered what he had 
done, and for his sake discharged the guilty brother, 
whose life had been forfeited. In like manner the 
wounded Body of Christ, standing at God's right hand, 
pleads, if we may so speak, for His sinful and condemned 
brethren, and thus the guilty but sincere and humble 
penitent finds mercy when he approaches the throne of 
the Almighty. 

" Where Christ Sitteth." 

S. CuTHBERT, the great missionary Bishop of Northum- 
bria in the seventh centliry, was once in an open boat 
when a snowstorm drove him on the coast of Fife. 
" The snow closes the road along the shore," mourned 



FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 



139 



his comrades; "the storm bars our way over the sea." 
" But there is still," said S. Cuthbert^ the way of 
Heaven that lies open." 

Heaven our Home. 

" Here in the body pent, 

Absent from Him I roam; 
Yet nightly pitch my moving tent 
A day's march nearer home." 

— Montgomery, 

Aim High. 

A FAMOUS English poet says — 

" Pitch thy behaviour low, thy projects high, 
So shalt thou humble and magnanimous be. 
Sink not in spirit; who aimeth at the sky 

Shoots higher much than he that means a tree." 

— Herbert. 

Onward and Upward. 

Two little children were once talking together about 
Heaven, and the little girl said to her brother, " I know 
the way to Heaven." " Do you, indeed? Then tell me 
the way," said the boy. And the little sister answered 
him, " You must begin to go up, and keep on going up, 
and vou will get there, but you must be sure not to turn 
back." 

The Result of Intercession. 

During the progress of the battle at Gettysburg, a young 
soldier picked up a soldier's Prayer Book, covered with 
blood, and soiled from the trampling of feet, and placed 
it in his blouse pocket. Later in the day he came to a 



140 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



wounded sergeant, who said, " Friend, I must die ; I am 
not prepared to die: can you not pray for me? " No," 
replied the young man, I have never prayed for my- 
self; and how can I ask mercy for you?" "Young 
man," said the sergeant, am dyingl Maybe God will 
hear you. Pray for me quick! I have not long to live. 
Pity a fellow-soldier, and help him to ask for pardon." 
At this moment the young man thought of the book in 
his pocket, drew it out, and found the prayer for a dying 
person, knelt by his side, and repeated the words. The 
sergeant thanked him, closed his eyes, and died. The 
young man hastened to other parts of the field; but every- 
where he heard the voice of the dying soldier, " Pray for 
me." The thought of praying for others, and not for 
himself, fastened conviction upon him, which resulted in 
prayer for himself, and his conversion to God. 

"Where Christ Sitteth." 

A LITTLE child was once asked where his home was, and 
answered with eyes full of love, Where mother is." 
Our true home is where Jesus is. " That they may be 
with Me where I am," was His prayer for us. 

"Where your Treasure is." 

The Arabs have a story about a treasure at the top of a 
mountain. Many persons tried to reach the top of the 
mountain, but all of them looked back and were turned 
to stone. At last two brothers and a sister heard of the 
treasure, and one of the brothers set out to obtain it. 
While he was climbing upwards he heard voices all 
around him warning and threatening him, and one called 
him a coward. That was too much for him. So he 



FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 141 



turned back to see the person who spake, and instantly 
became a stone. The second brother, after a time, went 
forth and chmbed half-way up until a sweet voice behind 
him told him to rest, and as he turned he was changed 
to a stone. Last of all the sister undertook the journey, 
but when she began she closed her ears to all sounds. In 
vain the voices threatened, insulted, flattered her. She 
went straight on, and gained the treasure. That story is 
a parable. We have all a treasure to gain. Where is it? 
To gain it we must climb. Every day we must try to get 
farther from sin and nearer to God — that is climbing. 
Every day we must try to conquer bad habits, selfish 
tempers — that is climbing. 

Seeing Heaven. 

When Dante, the great author of the vision of Hell or 
the " Inferno," walked the streets of Florence, the chil- 
dren, as they gazed on the face of the poet, were accus- 
tomed to whisper with awe-struck voices, " He has been 
in Hell." If Paradise and Heaven were as real to us, 
would we not show that fact in our lives? Would not 
people read it in our faces? 



SUNDAY AFTER ASCENSION. 

THE LIFE EVERLASTING. 

Computation of Eternity. 

" Suppose a little bird is set," says an old writer, " to re- 
move this globe by taking from it one grain of sand at a 
time, and to come only once in a thousand years. She 
takes her first grain, and away she flies on her long and 
weary course; and long, long, are the days ere she re- 
turns again. It will doubtless seem to many as if she 
never would return; but when a thousand years have 
rolled away she comes panting back for one more grain 
of sand, and this globe is again lessened by just one grain 
of its almost countless sands. So the work goes on; so 
eternity wears away — only it does not exhaust itself a 
particle. That little bird will one day have finished her 
task, and the last sand will have been taken away, but 
even then eternity will have only begun. Its sands are 
never to be exhausted. Taking up again our figure of 
the little bird removing the sands of our globe, we may 
extend it, and suppose that after she had finished this 
v/orld she takes up successively the other planets of our 
system — Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and 
Herschel, each and all on the same law — one grain each 
thousand years; and when these are all exhausted then 
the sun, and then each of the fixed stars, until the hun- 



144 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES, 



dreds of thousands of those stupendous orbs are all re- 
moved and gone. But even then eternity is not ex- 
hausted. We have not yet even an approximation to- 
wards its end. End! There is no end! That poor old 
bird makes progress. Though exceedingly slow, she will 
one day have done her appointed task, but she will not 
even then have come any nearer to the end of eternity. 
Eternity — who can compute it? " 

Eternal Life. 

" As a drop of water unto the sea, and a gravel stone in 
comparison of the sand; so are a thousand years to the 
days of eternity." — Ecclus. xviii. lO, 

Heaven Begun on Earth. 

When the temple at Jerusalem was being built, no sound 
of workman's tool was heard near. Each stone was 
shaped elsewhere, and only needed to be put into the 
place which was ready for it. So the great building rose 
up in its glorious beauty. All the parts were perfected, 
and as they were brought to join those built in before 
them, they helped to fulfil the great plan of the Divine 
Architect. In the Jerusalem above, there shall be a tem- 
ple finished one day which shall stand for ever. It shall 
be a spiritual temple, built of living stones. In it God 
shall dwell and be adored. How great the glory of those 
chosen and m.ade worthy to have a place in it! We all 
hope for the rest and delight of w^hich God speaks to us 
in this figure, as in so many others. We all shrink from 
the thought of our being cast away with what is unfit to 
be worked into God's design. Let us learn a lesson from 
the way in which the temple made with hands was built. 



SUNDAY AFTER ASCENSION. 145 



Heaven is not the place for shaping, but for putting what 
is already shaped in the proper place awaiting it. Here 
is God's workshop; now is our time to be prepared for 
heaven. This life, with all its cares and joys and tempta- 
tions, and means of grace, is intended to form us after 
God's will. In the Church on earth we take our charac- 
ter; in the Church above, it shall be shown. God gives us 
each a place in the Church now^; to fill that well is the 
preparation for a place in the Church hereafter. 

Preparation for Eternity. 

One day the master of Lukman, an Eastern fabulist, said 
to him, " Go into such a field, and sow barley." Luk- 
m.an sowed oats instead. At the time of harvest, his mas- 
ter went to the place, and, seeing the green oats springing 
up, asked him, Did I not tell you to sow barley here? 
Why, then, have you sown oats? " He answered, " I 
sowed oats in the hope that barley would grow up." His 
master said, What foolish idea is this? Have you ever 
heard of the like? " Lukman replied, You yourself are 
constantly sowing in the field of the world the seeds of 
evil, and yet expect to reap in the resurrection-day the 
fruits of virtue. Therefore I thought, also, I might get 
barley by sowing oats." The master was abashed at the 
reply, and set Lukman free. 

Working for Eternity. 

A FAMOUS painter of antiquity was one day asked by an- 
other painter the following question: " How does it hap- 
pen that you, who are so skilful in your art, make so few 
paintings, while I, far inferior to you in merit, make a 
large number in a little time? " Here is the reason," 
10 



146 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



replied the other, You paint for time, / paint for eter- 
nity.'" Every one of us has a picture to copy — Jesus 
Christ. Let us always remember that this picture is to 
be made for eternity. I paint for eternity." 

Only one Soul. 

S. Chrysostom says, God has given men double mem- 
bers: two eyes, that if one be lost the other may supply its 
wants; two hands, two ears, two feet, that the failing of 
one may be supplied by the help of the other; but only 
one soul. If that perish, there is no other to supply its 
place; we perish for ever. 

No Disappointment. 

When Columbus came to die, he, who had sailed on so 
many voyages and made so many discoveries, and met 
with such cruel ingratitude, said, I shall sail forth on 
one last voyage, where I shall not meet with disappoint- 
ment." 

Earthly " Immortality." 

Napoleon, once in the gallery of the Louvre, turned 
from a fine picture to Baron Denon, saying, " That is a 
fine picture, Denon! " Yes, immortal," was the reply. 
^' How long will this picture and a statue last? " said Na- 
poleon. " The picture five hundred years, and a statue 
five thousand, sire." '' And this you call immortality? 
said Napoleon. 

Heaven and Hell. 

Where is hell?" asked a scoffer. '^Anywhere outside 
of heaven," was the answer. 



SUNDAY AFTER ASCENSION. 



147 



Existence of Hell. 

Some time ago a man brought forward his strong argu- 
ment against the Bible, declaring, " I am seventy years 
of age, and have never seen such a place as hell, after all 
that has been said about it." His little grandson, of about 
seven years of age, who was all the while listening, asked 
him, " Grandaddy, have you ever been dead yet? " 

Everlasting Life. 

" I AM on the bright side of seventy," said an aged Chris- 
tian man who had passed the threescore years and ten. 
The bright side because nearer to everlasting joy." 

Heaven not Really Desired. 

Many men, if they had their choice, whether they 'would 
rather live here always or go to Heaven, would, if they 
spoke the truth, say, " I had rather live here. I believe I 
am happier here." When I was away from home a few 
weeks ago, I came to a beautiful spring of water, called 
the King's Pool. And this is the reason. When idols 
were still worshipped in that part of the world, it pleased 
God that the king should be converted, and should be- 
lieve in Christ. So a day was fixed for his Baptism, and 
he was to be baptised in this pool. Just before the service 
began he said to the Bishop, If I enter into the King- 
dom of Heaven, is it true that I shall find a great many 
poor, mean, miserable people there, as much in God's 
favour as I am? " " It is true, O king," said the Bishop. 
" And that I shall not find the other kings of the earth, 
who worship the gods that our fathers worshipped?" 
" That is true also." Then," said the king, turning 



148 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



back, " I will not be baptised. I had rather not enter 
into Heaven if it is such a place as you tell me." And he 
kept his word. He only spoke out boldly what I am 
afraid that some of us think secretly. 

" The Noble Army of Martyrs Praise Thee." 

It is a grand sight even on earth to look at an army of 
conquerors. I saw the troops come home from the 
Crimea, and watched miles of bright bayonets as regi- 
ment after regiment marched by; men who had fought at 
Alma and at Inkerman, men who had ridden in the 
death-ride at Balaklava, men who had lain in the freezing 
trenches before Sebastopol. Hearts throbbed and eyes 
flashed as those conquerors went by. But what must be 
the sight in Heaven, when high and low, rich and poor, 
walk in one grand procession, bearing the palms of vic- 
tory; of victory over sin, victory over self, victory over 
pride or falsehood! " Fling open wide the golden gates, 
And let the victors in." 

" The Life Everlasting." 

An old man who had been a faithful Christian all his life 
suddenly lost his sight. When the doctor told him that 
he never could see again, his answer was, Then the next 
person that I shall see will be our Lord Jesus Christ." To 
see Christ, and to be " with Him where He is," is " Life 
Everlasting." 

Preparation for Eternity. 

There was a certain nobleman who kept a fool, to whom 
he one day gave a stafif, with a charge to keep it till he 
should meet with one who was a greater fool than him- 



SUNDAY AFTER ASCENSION. 



149 



self. Not many years after, the nobleman fell sick, even 
unto death. The fool came to see him. His sick lord said 
to him, " I must shortly leave you." " And whither are 
you going?" said the fool. ''Into another world," re- 
plied his lordship. " And when will you return? within a 
month?" "No." " Within a year? " "No." "When, 
then? " " Never! " " Never? " said the fool. " And 
what provision hast thou made for thy entertainment 
there, whither thou goest? " "None at all." "No!" 
said the fool; " none at all! Here, then, take my staff; 
for, with all my folly, I am not guilty of any folly such as 
this." 



WHITSUNDAY. 



I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY GHOST. 

" He shall Convince the World of Sin." 

Under the guidance of the Holy Ghost, conscience 
works after the manner so beautifully set forth in the ring 
that a great magician, according to an Eastern tale, pre- 
sented to his prince. The gift was of inestimable value, 
not for the diamonds and rubies and pearls that gemmed 
it, but for a rare and mystic property in the metal. It sat 
easily enough on the finger in ordinary circumstances, 
but so soon as its wearer formed a bad thought, designed 
or committed a bad action, the ring became a monitor. 
Suddenly contracting, it pressed painfully on his finger, 
warning him of sin. 

Zeal, the Gift of the Holy Ghost. 

An Indian having heard from a white man some stric- 
tures on zeal, replied, I don't know about having too 
much zeal; but I think it is better the pot should boil 
over than not boil at all." 



Zeal, a Bond of Union. 

A MAN, unfamiliar with the blacksmith's art, spent several 
hours in vainly trying to join two bars of iron by ham- 



WHITSUNDA Y. 



mering them upon an anvil. At last he did what he 
should have done at first : he placed them in the fire until 
they were glowing with fervent heat. Then a few blows 
soon united them, and that so firmly that they could not 
be parted. And so it is with a congregation or a church. 
Let its members be without zeal for God's service, and 
they will be only so many isolated units, cold and careless 
of each other's welfare. But let the fire of zeal for some 
common work for God lay hold upon them, and they will 
soon discover that they are banded together by bonds 
unknown before. 



The Baptism of Fire. 

Suppose we saw an army sitting down before a granite 
fortress, and they told us that they intended to batter it 
down. We might ask them, How? They point us to a 
cannon-ball. Well, but there is no power in that! It is 
heavy, but not more than a hundredweight or half a 
hundredweight. If ail the men in the army were to 
throw it, that would make no impression. They say. No, 
but look at the cannon! Well, but there is no power in 
that; it is a machine, and nothing more. But look at the 
powder! Well, there is no power in that; a child may 
spill it, a sparrow may pick it up. Yet this powerless 
powder, and this powerless ball, are put into this power- 
less cannon; one spark of fire enters it, and then, in the 
twinkling of an eye, that powder is a flash of lightning, 
and that cannon-ball is a thunderbolt, which smites as if 
it had been sent from heaven. So it is with our Church 
m.achinery of the present day. We have our instruments 
for pulling down the strongholds, but oh! for the bap- 
tism of fire. 



152 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



" A Still, Small Voice." 

Have you ever noticed the great clock of S. Paul's? 
At mid-day, in the roar of business, how few hear it but 
those who are close to it! But when the work of the day 
is over, and silence reigns in London, then it may be 
heard for miles around. That is just like the conscience 
of an impenitent man. While in health and strength, he 
will not hear it; but the day will come when he must re- 
tire from the world, and look death in the face; and then 
the clock of conscience — the solemn clock — will sound 
in his ears, and, if he has not repented, will bring wretch- 
edness and misery to his soul. 

The Holy Ghost in the Scriptures. 

The natural conscience is like a clock. Holy Scripture 
resembles a sun-dial. The clock has the advantage of 
being always at hand to be consulted at any hour of the 
day or night. But, then, the clock is liable to go wrong, 
and vary from the true time. And it has no power in it- 
self of correcting its own errors, so that these may go on 
increasing to any extent. The sun-dial is alone the un- 
erring guide. By this the clock must be regulated. So 
is it with our consciences. They, too, must be contin- 
ually corrected by the Holy Scriptures written by the 
inspiration of the Holy Ghost. 

Growing from Within. 

Men who make a special study of trees have noticed one 
thing about the palm tree which marks it out as dififerent 
from all the many thousands of other trees. In the case 
of any of the trees which grow in our forests, if you were 
to saw through the trunk, you would notice, as probably 



WHITSUNDAY. 



153 



you all have noticed, on the stumps of trees that have 
been cut down, a number of rings beginning at the centre 
of the trunk, and getting larger and larger up to the last, 
which is just inside the bark. These rings show how the 
tree grows in thickness. You can tell how old a tree is 
by counting these rings, for every year it gets a new one 
around the one it had the year before. The old rings 
stay just as they are, and the tree gets bigger from the 
outside. Now, were you to cut down a palm tree you 
would find no such rings. It does not grow like other 
trees. This is important for us to notice, for you remem- 
ber the text says the righteous shall flourish like the 
palm tree.'' While other trees grow on the outside, the 
palm tree grows from within. It does not seem anxious 
to have a very thick trunk, but its main desire seems to 
be to climb up as near to the sky as possible, and so it 
keeps growing from within. The Bible tells us about 
that growing. " Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, 
and in favour with God and man." Do you not see how 
that was like the palm tree? Wisdom, which is within, 
comes first, and stature, which is without, comes after- 
wards. Our dear Lord, then, grew from within. It 
ought to be so with us. We must keep our hearts good 
and true, and our thoughts pure and free from sin; we 
must be good in our very own secret selves if we would 
flourish like the palm tree, and grow up as our Lord did. 
And that kind of growth can only come in one way. We 
must allow the Holy Ghost, " the Lord, and Giver of 
Life," to dwell in our hearts. 



" The Giver of Life." 

Once a traveller was descending into a lovely valley by 
a narrow path, which wound steeply down the mountain 



154 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



side. Above him, to the left, the bare rocks were baking 
in the fierce sun, the stunted brown grass was sere and 
sHppery; nothing but thistles were to be seen, not a green 
blade or leaf to rest the eye. But below him, to the right, 
all was green and fresh and beautiful; the great trees 
lifted their feathery crowns; the fields of maize and wheat, 
the vineyards and olive yards, mulberries and figs, corn 
and grass and flowers made this side of the hill like the 
Garden of Eden. What made the difference? The whole 
slope lay exposed to the same sun and breeze; the rain 
fell equally on every spot. As he looked and wondered, 
the traveller discovered a tiny canal, almost hidden in 
the tall grass and ferns, winding along and watering the 
ground; sending off a thousand baby streams on this 
hand and on that, so that wherever they came the land 
was glad, the flowers sprang up, and the corn and vine 
grew for the use of man. Then it came into the travel- 
ler's mind how what he saw was a fine emblenj of the 
heart of man. Left to itself it is like the barren and dry 
hillside, but when the tiny rivulet of the Spirit of God 
finds its way into the midst of it, everything is changed, 
and we see all the difference between the Lord's garden 
and the hard and stony land outside, where the blessed 
fruits of the Holy Spirit will not grow. 

"Come to Send Fire on the Earth." 

At an early stage of human society, when there were few 
means of obtaining fire (matches have only been invented 
during the present century), the custom prevailed of hav- 
ing a common fire to wdiich all could go to get a light. 
This fire was often in a temple or church. For instance, 
the nuns of Kildare in Ireland kept one of these sacred 
fires which was still burning at the end of six hundred 



WHITSUNDA V. 



155 



years. It had never been allowed to go out in all that 
time, and how many homes and firesides had been made 
bright and warm from that single undying flame! Such 
and infinitely more is that fire of the Holy Ghost 
which Christ sent upon the earth three times six hundred 
years ago, and which has never gone out since, and never 
can. (Compare Lev. vi. 13. For the origin of this fire 
see Lev. ix. 24.) 

"The Light of Life." 

There was once a traveller who was called by business 
to a small fishing town in Cornv/all. He reached the 
place very late in the evening; but as the night was very 
fine, though very dark, after supper he strolled through 
the town and climbed a steep hill. After pursuing the 
road for some distance, he determined to return. In the 
dim light he saw an open piece of ground — by crossing 
this it seemed he would lessen his way by " a short cut." 
He did so, and crossing the hill, came to a wall at the far- 
ther side. " This," said he to himself, " is the boundary 
wall of the road, and I have only to cross it and be on 
the highway." He therefore got over, and was surprised 
not to touch the ground with his feet. He was, how- 
ever, about to let go his hold and drop down, when it oc- 
curred to him that perhaps it m/ight be a little deeper 
than he thought, and that it would be wiser for him to 
retrace his footsteps, and go back the way he came. He 
did so, and reached his inn without further incident. On 
the morrow, having transacted his business, he thought 
he would walk up the hill and see in the daylight the 
place where he turned back the night before. But what 
was his surprise to find that he had in the darkness 
crossed a field to the very edge of the clif¥; that the wall 



156 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



he had thought to mark the road was really on the verge 
of a precipice; that where he had hung, imagining that 
the highway was only a couple of feet beneath, there was 
in reality a depth of more than a hundred feet to the shore 
far below, and had he sprung lightly over as he had in- 
tended, or let go his grasp, he would have met with in- 
stant death! Thus the daylight revealed to him the 
danger in which he had unconsciously been; and so does 
the illuminating power of the Holy Spirit make clear to 
the sinner the peril from which God has mercifully pre- 
served him! 

The Work of the Holy Ghost. 

Let us think of that bold scheme which has been sug- 
gested, to cut a canal across the narrow range of hills 
that bounds the Atlantic Ocean and let in its waters over 
the Sahara desert, turning its thirsty sand into an inland 
sea, where the sails of many nations might spread and 
carry with them civilization and progress. Such is the 
work of God the Holy Ghost, to change and alter and 
improve the souls of men, so that where were barrenness 
and desolation there may be health and usefulness — the 
blue waves and the white-winged ships, in place of the 
parching sand and the weary camel. 

The Inner Voice. 

A STORY is told that when George Selwyn accepted the 
Bishopric of New Zealand a great ecclesiastical poten- 
tate expressed his surprise that one living under the 
shadow of Windsor, and with every prospect of the high- 
est English promotion, was willing to go out to a distant 
colony. " Perhaps," was the reply, 



WHITSUNDAY. 



157 



" ' He hears a Voice you cannot hear, 
Which will not let him stay; 
He sees a Hand you cannot see, 
Which beckons him away.' " 

The Compass Flower. 

In the wilds of Texas the bewildered traveller is often 
guided to his home in safety by a little flower. It is 
called the " Compass flower," because its petals are al- 
ways found turned towards the north. The Holy Spirit 
in our hearts is like that compass flow^er, always guiding 
us aright. 

"Full of the Holy Ghost." 

In some of our houses is constructed a telegraphic alarm. 
Every door and every window, by a telegraphic wire, is 
connected with a little galvanic battery in a closet, and 
also with a bell at the head of the sleeper's bed. When a 
door or window opens, the bell gives a sudden peal. 
After five or six months, if no precaution is taken, a se- 
rious difficulty may occur. The lever may be turned to 
connect the battery with the bell, and a door may be 
opened; but no sound will be heard. What has hap- 
pened? Every wire in the house can be traced uninjured 
back to the battery; the platform on which stands the 
bell, and the lever connecting and disconnecting the 
wires, are all in place; but there is no response. The 
pozver is gone. What shall we do? Polish the bell? In- 
crease the number of or renew the wires? Still there 
would be no sound. Shall we smite upon the bell, imi- 
tating the ringing peal ourselves? But then its legiti- 
mate office, to give us warning, and to save us in the 
hour of danger, is gone. There is only one course to be 



158 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



pursued. The trouble is with the battery. It has only 
to be charged again as it was at first; and then the fire 
will run through all the lines of wire, and the response 
will be given at the point of contact. So also the heart 
must be again filled with the Holy Ghost; and every point 
of contact with our fellow-men will illustrate our moral 
power. 



TRINITY SUNDAY. 

THE HOLY TRINITY. 

The Mystery of God. 

One day S. Augustine, the great Bishop of Hippo, was 
walking on the seashore. He was thinking about the 
greatness of Almighty God. As he went along he saw a 
little child sitting close to the sea. This child had a small 
spoon in his hand, and was dipping the spoon into the sea. 
S. Augustine went to the child and said, " My little child, 
why are you dipping that spoon into the water? " The 
child answered, " I want to empty all the water out of 
the sea." But," said S. Augustine, it is of no use for 
you to try to empty the great sea with that little spoon." 
The child then said, " I am an angel from Heaven, and 
God has sent me to tell you that it will be easier for me 
to empty the sea with this little spoon than for you to 
understand all the greatness of God, God alone is great, 
and His greatness is for ever." 

Belief in God. 

A LADY was in society with a professed atheist, who 
talked much of his disbelief in God. As none agreed 
Avith him, he exclaimed impatiently, I could not have 
supposed that in a company of intellectual beings, I alone 
could have been found without belief in God." " Ex- 



i6o 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



cuse me, sir," said the lady, " you are not alone; my cat 
and dog lying yonder on the rug share your ignorance, 
only they, poor beasts, have the wit not to boast of it." 

" Except I shall See I will not Believe." 

See how foolish this is in worldly matters. An English 
traveller was once talking to the Emperor of Burmah 
(which is a very hot countrv-), and telling him of different 
things in England. He spoke about the railroads, and 
our newspapers, and our shops, and our manufactories; 
and the Emperor, though he was very much surprised, 
believed everything. At last the traveller happened to 
say something about skating, and the Emperor would 
listen no longer. He said, " You have told me many 
wonderful things, but I was willing to believe them, be- 
cause you said them. But I never will or can believe 
that water becomes hard enough to be walked on. If 
the whole world told me so, I would not believe it. I see 
that you are trying to deceive me, and I will listen to 
you no more." 

A Trinity in Nature. 

Professor Tyndall discovered three rays from an in- 
tensely heated body: the heat ray, felt, not seen; the light 
ray, seen and felt; the actinic ray, neither seen nor felt, but 
manifested chemically and in photography. So there is 
the Father, felt, not seen; the Son, both seen and felt; the 
Holy Spirit, neither seen nor felt, but known in renewal 
and sanctification of man. 



The Holy Trinity in the Flag. 

The red, white, and blue of the British and American 
flags are said to have been originally the signs of the 



TRINITY SUNDAY. 



i6i 



IVinity; white representing the hoUness of God, blue the 
love of Christ, and red the fire of the Holy Spirit. 

Unity of God. 

A LITTLE boy being asked, " How many gods are 
there?" repHed, "One." "How do you know that?" 
''Because," said the boy, "there is only room for one; 
for He fills heaven and earth." 

Mystery not Confined to Religious Truth. 

At the command of your soul, your hand is lifted up. 
But who is able to account for this? — for the connection 
between the actions of the mind and the outward actions? 
Nay, who can account for muscular motion at all, in any 
instance of it whatever? When one of the most ingenious 
physicians in England had finished his lecture on that 
head, he added, " Now, gentlemen, I have told you all 
the discoveries of our enlightened age. And now, if you 
understand one jot of the matter, you understand more 
than I do." The short of the matter is this: those who 
will not believe anything but what they can comprehend, 
must not beHeve that there is a sun in the firmament; 
that there is even light shining around them; that there 
is air, though it encompasses them on every side; that 
there is any earth, though they stand upon it. They 
must not believe that they have a soul ; no, nor that they 
have a body. 

S. Patrick and the Shamrock. 

" Have you heard," said young O'Cathal, the youthful 
Irish chieftain, to his mother, " what happened yester- 
day? We assembled at the hill of Tara, and the king 
II 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



himself was there, and all the nobles of the land, and the 
Druid priests. And a stranger came and asked audience 
of the king. He told us how he had been taken captive 
when a boy, and had lived for years as a slave and herds- 
man upon the mountain of Slemish in the north of our 
island, and that though he had escaped, yet of his own 
free will he had returned, for he had a message for us. 
Then the king asked his name, and he said ' It was Pa- 
tricius ' — and the king bade him go on. Then he said 
he came from afar to teach us the true religion — that 
there was only one true God, and that it was true of Him, 
that He was God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy 
Ghost. Then the king asked, ' How could this be so — 
how could He be Three and yet One?' Then this for- 
eign teacher looked down on the ground and found a 
little plant, and held it up to the king — and lo! it had 
leaves whereof three all joined in one, grown from a sin- 
gle stem. ' See here/ he said, ' O king, how Heaven hath 
created a kind of grass growing in the soil at your feet, 
which doth set forth this sacred mystery; it is three and 
yet but one.' And the king and the nobles have be- 
lieved what the stranger hath declared — and the great 
ones of Erin will be within three days baptised into the 
faith of Christ the Son of God, whom Patrick doth 
preach." 



FIRST SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 



PREFACE AND FIRST COMMANDMENT. 

Covering the Commandments. 

Pericles, upon certain ambassadors coming to him with 
proposals for the good of the Lacedemonians, said to 
them that there was a law which forbade the taking down 
of any tablet upon which a decree of the people was writ- 
ten. One of them, who was exceedingly sharp-witted, 
told him there was no need to take it down; he could 
turn the other side outward — and there was no law 
against that. How many would treat the commandments 
of God in the same way! They dare not deny them alto- 
gether, but they cover them up, that so they may not 
read them; they endeavour to forget them because they 
cannot bear that they should bear witness against them. 

The Ten Commandments in the Conscience. 

The Jews believe that the souls of all Jews were sum- 
moned before their birth to hear the deliverance of the 
law^ on Sinai, and when a Jew is charged with wrong by 
another he says, My soul also has stood before Sinai." 

All Sin against God. 

In English courts when a person is charged with any of- 
fence, he is not accused of committing a crime against 



FIRST SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 



165 



the person to whom he has done the wrong, but " against 
the peace of our Sovereign Lacly the Queen, her crown 
and dignity." So every sin is against God. " Against 
Thee only have I sinned " (Psalm li. 4). 

Only a Little out of the Way. 

A GENTLEMAN crossing the English Channel stood near 
the helmsman. It was a calm and pleasant evening, and 
no one dreamed of a possible danger to their good ship; 
but a sudden flapping of a sail, as if the wind had shifted, 
caught the ear of the officer on watch, and he sprang 
at once to the wheel, examining closely the compass. 
" You are half a point off the course," he said sharply to 
the man at the wheel. The deviation was corrected, and 
the officer returned to his post. " You must steer very 
accurately," said the looker-on, " when only half a point 
is so much thought of." "Ah! half a point in many 
places might bring us directly on the rocks," he said. 
So it is in life. Half a point from strict truthfulness 
strands us upon the rocks of falsehood. Half a point 
from perfect honesty, and we are steering right for the 
rocks of crime. And so of all kindred vices. The bes^in- 
nings are always small. 

*'The Way of Thy Commandments." 

There was an engine once, strong and grand and ma- 
jestic, who had carried thousands upon thousands of peo- 
ple safely to their homes. But he became discontented. 
" Why should I always be keeping to this way? " he said 
to himself; " it's a dull way; no hills to climb, no mead- 
ows to roll through, no forests, no trees, nothing but two 
long straight lines for me to run on. There isn't a horse 



1 66 FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 

in the field, or a lamb on the hill, but has more freedom 
than I have." And so he got sulky and stubborn, and 
more and more unmanageable; and at last, one day, 
when he was running through a beautiful part of the 
country, he suddenly yielded to the temptation he had 
long been nourishing in his heart, and bounded off the 
rails for a run on the meadow — but oh! what a mistake 
he made! He simply ploughed up the ground for a yard 
or two, and then he was smashed, and the air was filled 
with the shrieks and the groans of people who were 
crushed and injured. When it was too late he found out 
what a blessing was on him so long as he had been keep- 
ing to the way that w^as marked out for him. He lost 
all when he tried to please himself. 

The Way to Heaven. 

There was a man who had gone very far wrong who 
thought he would puzzle Bishop Wilberforce by asking 
him, "What is the shortest way to Heaven?" "Oh! 
that is quite simple," said the Bishop, " just take the first 
turn to the right, and keep straight on." 

One Weak Point 

The mother of Achilles, the great Greek chieftain, was 
told (so the story goes) that if she dipped her child into 
a certain charmed river he could never be wounded. And 
dip him she did; but there was one part of the heel she 
held him by, which the charmed water could not get at, 
and it was just there that Achilles, when he became a 
man, got his death-wound in battle. Many a boy is like 
Achilles. He thinks he is safe because he keeps nearly 
" all the commandments," is sober and honest, and so on. 



FIRST SUNDA Y AFTER TRINITY. 



167 



But there is no safety in " nearly." That " offending in 
one point " is sure to ruin him at last. 

Gratitude our Motive of Obedience. 

Just before the war of emancipation a wealthy gentle- 
man was walking through a Southern city and saw a 
group of slaves who were about to be sold. One was 
weeping bitterly, and when the gentleman asked her the 
cause, she said she did not know who her new master 
m^ight be. He said nothing more to the woman; but 
when she was put on the block for sale he was the 
highest bidder. When he went and told her he had 
bought her she was still weeping. " But," he added, I 
have not bought you to keep you a slave, but to make 
you free." Instantly she turned and said, Let me go 
with you, master, and I will serve you all my life." And 
have not we also been ''bought with a price"? Have 
not we been " brought out of the land of Egypt, out of 
the house of bondage "? 

All for God's Eyes. 

When Phidias, the great Greek sculptor, was working on 
the hair at the back of the head of a great statue which 
was to be placed high up on a temple, some one said to 
him, " Why do you take such pains with the hair? No 
one can see it." His simple reply was, " The gods will 
see it." That was the answer of a heathen. What greater 
reasons have we Christians for doing all things for the 
eye of God! 

" God is Love." 

That was the motto on a weathercock. The owner, on 
being asked if he meant that the love of God was as 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



changeable as the wind, replied, No, I mean, whichever 
way the wind blows, God is love. If it blows cold from 
the north, or biting from the east, still God is love as 
much as when the warm south or genial west wind makes 
everything warm and bright." No matter what happens 
to us, still God is love. Even His hardest command- 
ments are only the expression of His love. " His com- 
mandments are not grievous " or burdensome (i John v. 
3) because they are the laws of Him who loves us 

The Fear of God. 

It has been said that " It is the fear of God that makes 
men brave, and the fear of man that makes them cow- 
ards." Under the bust of the brave Lord Lawrence, in 
Westminster Abbey, is this inscription, He feared man 
so little, because he feared God so much." 

" Glory " or " Duty "—which ? 

Alison, the historian, says: " Singleness of heart was the 
characteristic of Wellington: ambition pervaded Napo- 
leon. . . . There is not a proclamation of Napoleon 
to his soldiers in which glory is not mentioned, nor one 
in which duty is alluded to; there is not an order of Wel- 
lington to his troops in which duty is not inculcated, nor 
one in which glory is mentioned." The one great leader 
was always thinking of self and ambition; the other was 
thinking of God and right. Can we doubt which is the 
nobler aim? 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 



SECOND COMMANDMENT. 

" Worship in Spirit and in Truth/* 

When S. Aitgtistme, the first Archbishop of Canter- 
bury, came to England to preach the Gospel to our 
heathen forefathers, the king said to him, Here is my 
God. I see him in the sun and stars/'' Then pointing to 
an idol, " Here is my image. I cannot see yours." 
" You have not eyes to see Him/' was S. Augustine's 
reply. 

The Idol God Serapis. 

In the year 391 the Emperor Theodosius gave orders that 
the great heathen temple of Serapis in Alexandria should 
be destroyed. The idol of Serapis was of vast size, 
adorned with jewels and covered with plates of gold and 
silver, and its worshippers believed that if it were hurt in 
any way, heaven and earth would go to wTeck. So when 
a soldier mounted a ladder and raised his axe against it, 
the heathen who stood by were in great terror. The sol- 
dier first made a blow which struck of? one of the idol's 
cheeks, and then dashed his axe into one of its knees. 
After a while, as the soldier worked on, the huge head 
came crashing down, but heaven and earth remained un- 
shaken. Then a swarm of rats rushed forth from the 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 171 



bead, and even the heathen began to laugh at their god. 
At last the whole idol was demolished and a beautiful 
# cross made of it, so that many heathen were converted in 

consequence of seeing the folly of their old religion. 

Idol Worship and the Commandments. 

In the great Empire of China, where the first and second 
Commandments are unknown, and idol worship exists 
everywhere, the other Commandments may be said to be 
equally unknown. In the market place in Shanghai, for 
instance, every buyer, as well as seller, brings his own 
pair of scales with him. He knows he cannot trust any 
of his neighbours. And the sixth Commandment fares no 
better than the eighth and ninth. Children are ruthlessly 
murdered by their parents if not satisfactory, if they are 
deformed or weak, and especially if they are female. 

Ignorance of Idolaters. 

The late Bishop of Calcutta said that he once asked an 
apparently pious Buddhist, whom he saw praying in a 
temple, what he had just been praying for. He replied, 
I have been pra^nng for nothing." " But," urged the 
Bishop, " to whom have you been praying? " The man 
answered, I have been praying to nobody." 

Praying Machines. 

Prayer-cylinders and prayer-wheels may be seen in 
every Chinese temple. Sometimes they are as high as 
sixty feet. They contain shrines, images, and written 
prayers, which the Chinese think are as good as any they 
can pray. As they pass the wheel they set it in motion, 



172 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



and thus make it pray for them. Let us take care that 
we do not turn our Prayer Book into a prayer-wheel. 
Unless we think of what we are saying, and put our 
heart into the prayers, we are doing no better than the 
heathen " with their " vain repetitions." 

Love Lacking among Heathens. 

The language of the Algonquin tribe of North American 
Indians contained no word for to love." So when the 
missionaries translated the Bible into it they were obliged 
to invent a word. 

Washington's Reverence in Prayer. 

" The father of his country " was a devout communi- 
cant of the American Church. An incident is related 
which is illustrative of Washington's habits. A visitor 
in the halls of Congress asked how he could distinguish 
Mr. Washington of Virginia. The reply was: You will 
know him easily when Congress is at prayer. Mr. Wash- 
ington is a gentleman who kneels dozvn." 



THIRD SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 



THIRD COMMANDMENT. 

Punishment of Blasphemy. 

Death by stoning. Lev. xxiv. 14. Sennacherib's army 
destroyed: 185,000 men. 2 Kings xix. Is. xxxvii. An- 
tiochus. 2 Mace. ix. 9. Nicanor killed in battle. 2 Mace. 
XV. 33. Herod eaten of worms. Acts xii. 

Judgment on Persecutors. 

Almost all persecutors of the Church of Christ have 
come to an untimely end. Thus Nero and Severus killed 
themselves; Domitian, Trajan, Maximinius, Decius, Gal- 
lian. Valerian, Diocletian, and Julian the Apostate were 
killed by others. God's Church has always been very 
dear to Him, and the judgm^ents He has shown those 
who persecute it, not only prove His just indignation 
against those who attempt to destroy it, but are so many 
testimonies of special love to His people, and shotild en- 
courage them. 

Punishment of Sacrilege. 

It is well known that, while Sir Walter Scott remained 
at Ashestiel, none could be more fortunate, none more 
happy. He removed to Abbotsford, the very name of 
which testifies to its having been Church property. 



THIRD SUN DA Y AFTER TRINITY. 



175 



Thenceforward, in spite of all his genius and all his hon- 
esty, he is inextricably involved in embarrassment after 
embarrassment, ending in total ruin; and this by a series 
of the most accidental and unlikely circumstances. In 
his generous self-devotion to his creditors, his mind 
breaks down. His son succeeds in the prime of youth 
and strength, and is at once cut of¥. His second son 
succeeds, and dies also. His daughters fall victims to the 
same fate. In the next generation his " name is clean put 
out." Knowing this as we know it, how unspeakably 
touching it is to read his light allusions to the appropria- 
tion of a cross, as a nice little piece of sacrilege from 
Melrose! " 

Rebuke of Swearing. 

A GOOD old man was once in company with a gentleman 
who occasionally introduced into conversation the words 
" devil," " deuce," etc., and who at last took the Name of 
God in vain. " Stop, sir," said the old man. " I said noth- 
ing v/hile you only used freedoms with the name of your 
own master, but I insist upon it that you shall use no free- 
doms with the Name of mine.'* 

One Thing I can Do." 

A LITTLE Boston boy of twelve, who was very small for 
his age, was working for a man who was much given to 
swearing. As he and his friends were talking one day 
and using many oaths, they began to make fun of the 
boy for his size. The little fellow looked up and said, 
" Well, small as I am, there is one thing I can do, which 
none of you big men are able to do." "Ah, indeed! " 
said they, ''what is that?" ''Why," said the boy, "I 
can keep from swearing." 



176 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



"A Name which is Above Every Name." 

The i8th canon of the Church of England says: " When 
in time of divine service the Lord Jesus shall be men- 
tioned, due and lowly reverence shall be done by all per- 
sons present, as it hath been accustomed; testifying by 
their outward gesture their due acknowledgment that the 
Lord Jesus Christ, the true eternal Son of God, is the 
only Saviour of the world." 



" Swearing in Hebrew." 

A NAVAL officer was a passenger on the train from New 
York to Philadelphia, and was talking to a gentleman at 
his side. His conversation was filled with terrible oaths, 
so that a young lady sitting near him had to hear every 
oath. Every seat was occupied, and she could not get 
away from the sound. So at last, when she could bear it 
no longer, she thought she would try to stop it. Turning 
to the officer, she said, " Excuse me, sir, but can you 
speak Hebrew? " He was a good deal surprised, but said 
in a confused sort of way that he thought he could if he 
tried. Well," said the lady, " it w^ould be a great relief 
to me and to the other passengers if, for the future, you 
would do your swearing in Hebrew." During the rest 
of the journey there were no more oaths heard, either in 
English or in Hebrew. 



Swearing " Alone with God." 

A Christian merchant was greatly shocked one day by 
hearing a man in his office swearing very horribly. After 
a while he looked at the man and said, My friend, I will 
give you ten dollars if you will go into the village church- 



THIRD SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 177 



yard at twelve o'clock to-night and swear the same oaths 
there alone with God that you have just been swearing 
here." " Agreed," said the man. " That's an easy way 
for making ten dollars." At midnight the man started 
for the graveyard. It was a dark and dismal night, and 
as he entered the churchyard all was as still as death. 
Then the merchant's words, All alone with God," rang 
in his ears. He felt, as he had never done before, that 
God was there, close by his side. The idea of swearing 
in the immediate presence of God seemed terrible, and 
he did not dare to utter an oath. Instead, he fell on his 
knees and said the prayer of the publican, God, be mer- 
ciful to me, a sinner," and he determined he would never 
utter another oath. 

The Punishment of Sacrilege. 

The taking of things which have been set apart for re- 
ligious purposes, and treating them as if they were com- 
mon things, is what is called sacrilege. That is another 
breach of the third Commandment. Turn to the fifth 
chapter of the Book of Daniel and read the account of 
the wicked king who used the holy vessels taken out of 
the Temple of God, at his drunken feast. By bearing this 
history in mind you will be prepared to answer the ques- 
tion somebody will be very likely to ask you some time 
or other: " Is there any harm in sacrilege? " In the midst 
of Sherwood Forest stands Newstead Abbey, a religious 
house, for the support of which many good people have 
given lands and money. Henry the Eighth made a pres- 
ent of this property to his friend, Sir John Byron, as if 
he could take what belonged to God, and nothing would 
ever be thought of it. The Byron family, so far from 
being better off for this possession, were overwhelmed 
12 



178 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



with troubles and misfortunes from generation to genera- 
tion. Lord Byron, the poet, who never gave much 
thought to rehgion, and who probably never suspected 
why his family had suffered so much, remarked that this 
constant succession of troubles " looked almost like fa- 
tality." It would be easy to mention cases much nearer 
our own time, but as this would be unpleasant and pain- 
ful, I have chosen one which happened long ago. 

" His Name shall be Called Wonderful." 

S. BoNAVENTURA, in his life of S. Francis, tells us that 
whenever the saint, in the course of his reading aloud, 
had to pronounce the Name of Jesus, he lingered on the 
sound with a gentle, loving emphasis, and with a musical 
ring in his tones, unheard at other times; and that he 
was scrupulous to let no fragment of writing, which had 
those syllables in it, lie neglected on the ground, or be 
put to any servile use. 

Payment for Profanity. 

" What does Satan pay you for swearing? " asked one 
gentleman of another. He don't pay me anything," 
was the reply. Well, you work cheap — to lay aside the 
character of a gentleman; to inflict so much pain on your 
friends and civil people; to suffer; and, lastly, to risk your 
own precious soul, and for nothing — you certainly do 
work cheap, ver}^ cheap indeed." 



FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER 
TRINITY. 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 

Forgetting Sunday. 

Sir," said a man to a clergyman, who was going home 
from church on Sunday afternoon, " did you meet a 
boy on the road driving a cart wnth rakes and pitchforks 
on it?" "I think I did," said the clergyman; "a boy 
with a short memory, wasn't he? " What made you 
think he had a short memory? " said the man, with a look 
of wonder. " I think he had," said the other, and I 
think too he must belong to a family that have short 
memories." " What in the world makes you think so? " 
said the man, still more puzzled. " Because," said the 
clergyman, in a serious voice, the Great God has said 
' Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy/ and I see 
that the boy and his family have forgotten all about it." 

The Sunday-stone. 

In one of our English coal mines there is a constant for- 
mation of limestone, caused by the trickling of water 
through the rocks. This water contains a great many 
particles of lime, which are deposited in the mine, and as 
the water passes ofif, these become hard and form the 



FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. i8i 



limestone. This stone would always be white, like marble, 
were it not that men are working in the mine; and as 
the black dust rises from the coal, it mixes with the soft 
lime, and in that way a black stone is formed. Now, in 
the night, -when there is no coal dust rising, the stone is 
white; then again, the next day, when the miners are at 
work, another black layer is formed, and so on alter- 
nately, black and white, through the week until Sunday 
comes. Then, if the miners keep holy the Lord's Day, a 
much larger layer of white stone will be formed than be- 
fore. There will be the white stone of Saturday night 
and the whole of vSunday, so that every seventh day the 
white layer will be about three times as thick as any of 
the others. But if they work on that day they see it 
marked against them in the stone. Hence the miners 
call it " the Sunday-stone." Be very careful to keep 
your Simday pure and white, nor allow the dust of world- 
liness and sin to tarnish the purity of the blessed day. 
" Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." 

Sunday Everywhere. 

A WOMAN neglected to send home some work on Satur- 
day. On Sunday morning she told her little niece to 
take it to the lady's house. Put it under your shawl," 
she said, and nobody will notice it." But, aunty," 
said the child, " isn't it Sunday under my shawl? " 

A Sunday Scholar in Japan. 

A MANLY boy, whose heart had been touched by the 
spirit of Christianity, resolved to attend a Sunday-school, 
against the wishes of his father, who was a profligate un- 
believer. On the evening of every day that he attended 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



the school he was regularly whipped by his father with 
a piece of rope. After this had been going on for several 
weeks the boy appeared before his father one Sunday 
morning, and handing him the instrument of torture, 
made this request: " Father, as you are determined to 
whip me every time I go to Sunday-school, and I am de- 
termined to go, I would ask you to punish me now before 
I disobey your orders, so that I may not have to think of 
the coming punishment when studying the Bible in the 
Sunday-school." The result of that boy's pluck was to 
bring his father and all the family within the fold of a 
happy Christian life. — Charles Lanman, in The Gospel in 
All Lands. 

Commencement of their Downfall. 

An aged clergyman in Baltimore states that during the 
many years he was chaplain to the Maryland Penitentiary 
he took great pains to find out from the convicts what 
was the commencement of their downward course; and. 
the testimony of ninety-nine out of a hundred was that 
the beginning of their wicked courses was profaning 
God's holy day. 

Sunday Religion. 

In a little New England city there is a town clock, pre- 
sented many years ago as a gift, but which has not been 
improved by age. One of its peculiarities is that on Sun- 
days it always strikes the hours correctly, according to 
true " standard " time, but just as soon as Monday morn- 
ing comes it is not to be depended on, and all the re- 
mainder of the week it keeps growing worse from day 
to day. The explanation of this apparent freak is that 
the keeper of the clock always winds it up on Sunday and 



FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 183 



then sets it right, and so for that single day it is a toler- 
ably safe guide, but when Sunday is past, it is not to be 
relied upon at all. Is not the rehgion of some people 
very like the working of this New England clock? Surely 
a very poor sort of religion! Better " serve God truly all 
the days of our life." 

Happy Sundays. 

" Sundays observe : think when the bells do chime, Tis 
angels' music." — Herbert. 

The Sabbath. 

A MAN was urged by his employers to work regularly on 
Sunday at his trade, but he declined. " But," said the 
master, " does not the Bible say that if a man has an ox 
or an ass that falls into a pit on the Sabbath-day he may 
pull him out?" ''Yes," answered the man, ''but if the 
ass has a habit of falling into the same pit every Sabbath- 
day, then the man should either fill up the pit or else sell 
the ass." 

Washington and the Fourth Commandment. 

The Rector of Truro, the parish of which Washington 
was a member, writes concerning his great parishioner: 
" I never knew so constant an attendant at church as 
Washington, and his behaviour in the House of God was 
ever so deeply reverential that it produced the happiest 
effect on my congregation, and greatly assisted my pul- 
pit labours. No company ever withheld him from 
church. I have often been at Mt. Vernon on a Sunday 
morning when his breakfast table was filled with guests; 
but to him they furnished no pretext for neglecting his 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



God and losing the satisfaction of setting a good ex- 
ample, for, instead of staying at home out of false com- 
plaisance to them, he used constantly to invite them to 
accompany him." 

" This is the Day which the Lord hath Made." 

The other half of that verse, you remember, reads, " We 
will rejoice and be glad in it." Sunday is a day of glad- 
ness, quiet gladness, if you please, but still gladness, be- 
cause on that day Christ rose from the dead and con- 
quered death. In some parts of the Christian world 
some people have thought differently and made it a day 
of gloom and sadness. A Scottish Highlander who was 
brought up to that sort of Sabbath-keeping, once visited a 
large town for the first time on Sunday. When he re- 
turned home this is the way he described what he saw. 
He said, It was a terrible sight. The streets were 
crowded with people, and some of them were smiling as 
if they were quite happy! " 

''Robbing God." 

One Sunday a gentleman on his way to church saw some 
big boys playing as if it were a weekday. He went up to 
them leisurely and looked on. Then, after a while, he 
said, Boys, I want to tell you a story." At once they 
were all attention, and he went on. " There was once a 
kind-hearted man on a journey who met a poor man in 
great distress. The good man felt sorry for him and im- 
mediately took out his purse, and finding seven dollars in 
it, he took six and gave them to the poor man. You 
would think the man would have been very grateful. 
But no, he was not a beggar at all, but a robber. So, 



FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 185 



seeing that the good man had still one dollar in his purse, 
he knocked him down with a club and took his last dollar 
from him." All the boys agreed that that was a very 
mean thing to do. " But, boys," said the gentleman, 
" let me tell you that this is just what you are doing. 
God has emptied, not His purse, but His heart, for you. 
He has freely given you six days, keeping only one for 
Himself, and yet you are so mean as to rob Him of that 
one." All that can be added is that there was no more 
play that Sunday at any rate. 



FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 

Safety in Obedience. 

A POINTSMAN in Prussia was at the junction of two lines 
of railway, his lever in hand for a train that was signalled. 
The engine was within a few seconds of reaching the em- 
bankment, when the man, on turning his head, perceived 
his little boy running along the rails of the line the train 
was to pass over. " Lie down! " he shouted to the child; 
but, as to himself, he remained at his post. The train 
passed safely on its way. The father rushed forward, ex- 
pecting to take up a corpse; but what was his joy on 
finding that the boy had at once obeyed his order! He 
had laid down, and the whole train had passed over him 
without injury. The next day the king sent for the man, 
and attached to his breast the medal for civil courage. 

Filial Obedience. 

During the stay in England of that great hero of the 
Indian Mutiny, Sir Henry Havelock, a gentleman went 
one evening to the house of the colonel, in compliance 
with an invitation. In the course of conversation Mrs. 
Havelock turned suddenly round to her husband, and 
said, " My dear, where is Henry? " referring to her son, 
whom she had not seen during the whole afternoon. The 



FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 187 

colonel started to his feet. " Well, poor fello\v, he's 
standing on London Bridge, and in this cold too! I 
told him to wait for me there at twelve o'clock to-day, 
and in the pressure of business I quite forgot the appoint- 
m.ent." It was now about seven o'clock in the evening. 
The colonel at once rose, ordered a cab to be called, and, 
as he went forth to deliver his son from his watch on Lon- 
don Bridge, turned to excuse himself to his visitor, say- 
ing, " You see, sir, that is the discipline of a soldier's fam- 
ily." In the course of an hour he returned with poor 
Harry, who seemed to have passed through the after- 
noon's experience with the greatest good humour. 

Undutifulness towards Parents. 

A FARMER in Connecticut, possessing a small estate, was 
persuaded by his only son (who was married, and lived 
with his father) to give him a deed of the property. It 
was accordingly executed. Soon the father began to find 
himself neglected; next removed from the common table 
to a block in the chimney-corner, to take the morsel of 
food reluctantly given him. At last, one day, the un- 
natural son resolved to break the afflicted heart of his sire. 
He procured a block and began to hollow it. While at 
work, he was questioned by one of his own children, what 
he was doing. " I am making a trough for your grand- 
father to eat out of," was the reply. " Ah! " said the child, 
" and when you are as old as grandfather, shall I have to 
make a trough for you to eat out of? " The instrument 
he w^as using fell from his hand; the block was cast into 
the fire; the old m.an's forgiveness was asked, and he 
was restored to the situation his age and worth entitled 
him to. 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



Undutifulness towards Parents. 

A SON had banished his father from his house. The 
father fell sick, and went to the poorhouse, and sent to his 
son for a pair of sheets. The son sent them to him by 
one of his own children. The child took only one of 
them to his grandfather; and when his father asked him 
why he had not taken both, he answered, " / have kept the 
other for you when you go to the poorhouse," 

Politeness of Great Men. 

An anecdote which serves to indicate how the nobleness 
of a great man may be shown in small matters, is told of 
Sir Bartle F'rere, the British general. His wife was to 
meet him on a certain day at a railway station, and hav- 
ing her servant with her, requested him to go and find the 
general. The servant had not seen his master, and, non- 
plussed, replied, " But how shall I know him?" Oh," 
said Lady Frere, " look for a tall gentleman helping 
somebody." The description was sufiicient for the quick- 
witted man. He went out and found Sir Bartle helping 
an old lady out of a railway carriage, and knew him at 
once by the description. 

Courtesy. 

The Duke of Wellington never addressed a request to 
any of his personal attendants without saying, " If you 
please." When he was dying his valet asked him if he 
would take some tea; he replied, — and they were his last 
words, — " Yes, if you please." 



FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 189 



Consideration for the Aged. 

General Lee, Dr. Bond tells us, was in the cars going 
to Richmond, and had a seat at the extreme end. The 
other seats were filled with officers and soldiers. An old 
woman of humble appearance entered at one of the sta- 
tions, and finding no seat, and none having been offered 
her, approached the general. He immediately arose and 
gave her his seat. Instantly there was a general rising 
and proffering of seats to " Mass. Robert "; but he calm- 
ly said, " No, gentlemen: if there was no seat for the in- 
firm old woman, there can be none for me." The effect 
v/as remarkable. One after another got out of the car, as 
if the seats were too hot to sit on, and the general and the 
old lady soon had the car before them where to choose. 

A Boy with a Recommendation. 

" I SHOULD like to know," said a friend, on what 
ground you selected that boy, who had not a single rec- 
ommendation? " "You are mistaken," said the gentle- 
man; " he had a great many. He wiped his feet when he 
came in, and closed the door after him, showing that he 
was careful. He gave his seat instantly to that lame old 
man, showing that he was thoughtful. He took off his 
cap when he came in, and answered my questions 
promptly, showing that he was gentlemanly. He waited 
quietly for his turn, instead of pushing and crowding, 
showing that he was honourable and orderly. When I 
talked to him I noticed that his clothes were brushed, his 
hair in order, and when he wrote his name I noticed that 
his finger-nails were clean. Don't you call those things 
letters of recommendation? I do; and I would give 



190 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



more for what I can tell about a boy by using my eyes 
ten minutes, than all the letters he can bring me." 

Sorrow for Disobedience. 

The great Dr. Samuel Johnson, when a boy, refused to 
take his father's bookstall in Uttoxeter Market. Fifty 
years afterwards he stood on the same spot bareheaded 
for an hour in rain and wind, as a token of his repentance. 
Another great English writer said, sadly, What would 
I give to call my mother back to earth for one day, to ask 
her pardon upon my knees for all those things by which I 
gave her gentle spirit pain! " 

Example of Obedience. 

The commander of the ship-of-war Orient, before the 
battle of the Nile, placed his son Cassabianca, thirteen 
years of age, on certain duty, to stay at his post till re- 
lieved by his father's order. Soon after, the father was 
slain. The boy held his post in the midst of fearful car- 
nage, ignorant of his father's fate; and, while the sailors 
were deserting the burning and sinking ship, he cried, 
Father, may I go? " The permission did not come 
from his dead father's lips; and there he stood alone, firm 
at his post, and perished in the flames. 

"ril not Disobey my Mother." 

Several boys were playing marbles. In the midst of 
their sport the rain began to fall. Freddie S. stopped, 
and said, " Boys, I must go home. Mother said I must 
not go out in the rain." ''Your mother, — fudge! The 
rain won't hurt you any more than it will us," said two or 



FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 



191 



three voices at once. Freddie turned upon them with a 
look of pity, and the courage of a hero, and repHed, " /'// 

not disobey my mother for any of you! " 

"What will my Mother Think?" 

A MAN who was very famous in his day, tells us that when 
a boy he tempted a companion, younger than himself, to 
enter a cave on a wild part of the sea-coast. Whilst the 
boys were looking at the wonders of the cave, the tide 
came up unnoticed, and they were kept prisoners all 
night. The younger boy burst into tears, saying, " What 
will my mother think? I should care nothing for myself 
— but my mother — ! " 

The Only True Gentleman. 

" He is gentle that doth gentle deeds." — Chaucer. 

A Born Gentleman. 

A SMALL boy was at a table where his mother was not 
near to take care of him, and a lady next to him volun- 
teered her services. " Let me cut your steak for you," 
she said; " if I can cut it the way you like it," she added, 
with some degree of doubt. " Thank you," the boy re- 
sponded, accepting her courtesy; " I shall like it the way 
you cut it, even if you do not cut it the way I like it." 

Advantages of Politeness. 

While an officer was bowing, a cannon-ball passed over 
his head, and decapitated a soldier who stood behind him. 
" You see," said the officer to those near him, " that a 
man never loses by politeness." 



192 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES, 



Power of Politeness. 

A LITTLE girl told her aunt that she had found a new key 
to unlock people's hearts. It was the little word 
" Please." It is a key that fits the lock of everybody's 
heart. 

Obedience the Foundation of Greatness. 

When the War of American Independence was over, 
and Washington returned in triumph from the field, 
everybody was praising him as the saviour of his country, 
and the greatest man of the age. At length he reached 
his old home, where great crowds came out to meet and 
welcome him, his own loved mother in the midst of them. 
He hastened to greet her, while she threw her arms 
round her son's neck and kissed him. Then when some 
one was congratulating her on her noble son, her only 
reply was, Yes, George was always an obedient child." 
That was what impressed itself more deeply in her mem- 
ory, and that was really the foundation of all his great- 
ness. 

Honour all Men." 

A BOY playing in the street one day ran against a poor 
old man, and at once begged his pardon. " What did 
you do that for? " said one of his companions. " It was 
only old Giles. He's not a gentleman." " That makes 
no dif¥erence," replied the boy. " It is not a question 
whether he is a gentleman, but whether / am one." 



SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 



SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 

" Love the Fulfilling of the Law." 

It is told of S. John that being now very old, and unable 
to say much in the Christian assemblies, he caused him- 
self to be carried to the doors of the churches, and as the 
people entered in, his constantly repeated sermon to 
them was, " Children, love one another." That summed 
up everything. 

"As ye Would that Men should Do to you." 

During the war in Germany, the Captain of a troop of 
horse found a poor man, and desired him to show them a 
good barley-field, where the horses could be fed. The 
poor man promised to do so; and accordingly led them 
some way, till at length he brought them to what they 
were seeking. " This will do very well," said the Cap- 
tain. Halt." Come a little further," said the poor 
man, " and 1 will show you one that will do better." Ac- 
cordingly he led the troops further on; and, sure enough, 
they came to another barley-field. After all," said the 
Captain, " this is not so good a field as that which you led 
us past." " No," said the poor man, " but this is mine.'' 



SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 



195 



God Helps those who are Kind. 

An old legend tells us that S. Crispin used to make shoes 
for the poor, without payment or reward, and the angels 
always brought him the leather. 

Power of Kindness. 

A SOLDIER was to be brought before his commanding of- 
ficer for some offence. He was an old offender, and had 
been often punished. " Here he is again," said the ofifi- * 
cer, on his name being mentioned; " flogging, disgrace, 
solitary confinement, everything has been tried with 
him." Whereupon the sergeant stepped forward, and, 
apologising for the liberty he took, said, " There is one 
thing which has never been done with him yet, sir." 

What is that? " said the officer. " Well, sir," said the 
sergeant, " he has never been forgiven." " Forgiven! " 
exclaimed the colonel, surprised at the suggestion. He 
reflected for a few minutes, ordered the culprit to be 
brought in, and asked him what he had to say to the 
charge. Nothing, sir," was the reply; " only I'm sorry 
for what I have done." Turning a kind and pitiful look 
on the man who expected nothing else than that his pun- 
ishment would be increased with the repetition of his of- 
fence, the colonel addressed him, saying, " We have tried 
everything with you, and now we are resolved to — for- 
give you." The soldier was struck dumb with amaze- 
ment. The tears started to his eyes, and he wept like a 
child. He was humbled to the dust, and, thanking his 
officer, he retired. To be the old refractory, incorrigible 
man? No! From that day forward he was a new man. 
It was said of him that a better-conducted man never 
wore the Queen's uniform. Kindness bent him whom 



196 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



harshness could not break. The man was conquered by 
mercy and melted by love. 

Love like " Oil on the Waters." 

A LARGE ship was lately disabled at sea in a storm, but 
the captain had a quantity of oil thrown on the waves, and 
the stormy waters lost their power. The ship was after- 
wards towed safely 750 miles to harbour. 

" Thy Neighbour as Thyself.'* 

Once Turner, the famous artist, was on a committee 
whose business it was to arrange about hanging the pic- 
tures for exhibition at the Royal Academy. When the 
committee had nearly finished, and the walls were 
crowded, Turner's attention was called to a picture by 
an unknown artist who had no friend in the Academy to 
watch over his interests. " That is an excellent picture," 
said Mr. Turner. " It must have a place somewhere." 
" Impossible," said the other members. There is no 
room left." " That picture must have a place some- 
where," repeated the generous artist, and then he delib- 
erately took down one of his own pictures and put this 
painting of the unknown artist in its place. 

" Murder will Out." 

You have perhaps read the story of " Eugene Aram," by 
Bulwer Lyttcn. It is founded on fact. Aram was a 
school teacher who murdered his friend for money and 
hid his body. It was fourteen years before the body was 
found, and then a number of little incidents went to show 
that Aram was the murderer, so he was arrested, tried, 



SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 



197 



and hung. Hood has a poem on " The Dream of Eugene 
Aram," which he tells to one of his scholars the day be- 
fore he was arrested. In his dream he said he had mur- 
dered the man, and had cast his body into a river — " a 
sluggish water, black as ink, the depth was so extreme." 
The next morning he visited the place. 

And sought the black, accursed pool, 

With a wild, misgiving eye! 
And he saw the Dead in the river bed, 

For the faithless stream was dry." 

Next he hid the body in a wood. 

There was no time to dig a grave, 

Before the day began. 
In a lonesome wood, with heaps of leaves, 

I hid the murdered man." 

Then a stray wind sweeps away the leaves and he buries 
the body in a grave. But even there he feels he is not 
safe. 

" Ay, though he's buried in a cave, 
And trodden down with stones, 
And years have rotted off his flesh, 
The world shall see his bones! " 

Kindness to Animals. 

The Talmud has a story to account for God's selection of 
Moses to be the leader of His people Israel. It was be- 
cause God observed one day his tenderness to a stray 
lamb. 

The Sixth Commandment among the Heathen. 

A MISSIONARY has made the calculation that since the 
period of the Christian era more than three millions of 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



human beings have perished amongst the Gonds (an East 
Indian tribe), either as offerings to the earth-god or as 
the victims of female infanticide. 

The Dead Sea. 

The water of the Sah or Dead Sea is clear as crystal. The 
lake is very beautiful at times, reflecting as in a mirror 
the fair, bright skies overhead. But the whole landscape 
near the lake is most desolate. No fish are found in its 
waters. Nothing but the lowest forms of animal life can 
exist in them. The shores are strewed with dead drift- 
wood crusted deeply with salt. Scarcely a plant or shrub 
is to be seen anywhere, and away to the south stretches 
an unhealthy swamp breathing out disease continually. 
The prevailing features of the scene are loneliness and 
death. The sea is indeed well named the " Dead Sea." 
And what is it that makes it so? It is because it has no 
outlet. The Jordan, and the streams from the neighbour- 
ing hills, and the rain from Heaven, are ever pouring 
their treasures into its bosom, but it never flows out be- 
yond itself. Its waters never carry life and health to the 
parched country around. They only dry up. The sea is 
ever receiving hut never giving, and the result is death. 
Does not this teach us that in order really to live, one 
must love? 

Great Murderers. 

Napoleon Bonaparte resolved to invade Russia. There 
was no necessity for it, but he determined to do it. He 
raised a great army of nearly 500,000 men. He marched 
to Moscow. He took it. The Russians set fire to it 
It was burnt down. Winter set in. Napoleon was de- 
feated and driven back. The grand army was destroyed, 



SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 199 



some by the sword or bullet, some by the terrible cold 
and the long marches. Who killed them? Napoleon 
Bonaparte. What a grand murderer he was! Think of 
this when you hear or read of what is called the " glory " 
of war. 

Love the only True Nobility. 

" Howe'er it be, it seems to me, 
'Tis only noble to be good, 
Kind hearts are more than coronets 
And simple faith than Norman blood." 

— Tennyson. 

Trifling Quarrels and their Results. 

In the year 1005, some soldiers of the Commonwealth of 
Modena ran away with a bucket from a public well be- 
longing to the State of Bologna. The implement might 
be worth a shilling; but it produced a quarrel which 
worked into a long and bloody war. Henry, the King of 
Sardinia, for the Emperor Henry the Second, assisted the 
Modenese to keep possession of the bucket; and, in one 
of the battles, was made prisoner. His father, the Em- 
peror, offered for his ransom a chain of gold that would 
encircle Bologna, which is seven miles in compass; but in 
vain. After twenty years' imprisonment — his father being 
dead — he pined away and died. His monument is still 
extant in the church of the Dominicans. The fatal bucket 
is still exhibited in the tower of the Cathedral of Modena, 
enclosed in an iron cage. 



Cruelty to Animals. 

There was a lad strolling through the fields with his sis- 
ter. They found a nest of rabbits. The sister was 



200 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



charmed with the nest itself, and with its Hving occu- 
pants; but the lad seized them, mimicking their squeaks 
and their struggles. In vain his sister wept and en- 
treated; he flung them up into the air, and shouted as 
each fell dead upon the stones. Ten years after, that sis- 
ter sat weeping again by that boy's side. He was in 
chains, sentenced to be hung for shooting a farmer whilst 
poaching; they were waiting for the awful procession to 
knock at the cell-door. Sister," he said, " do you re- 
member the nest of rabbits ten years ago, how you 
begged and prayed, and I ridiculed? I verily believe, 
that, from that day, God forsook me, and left me to follow 
my own inclinations. If I had yielded to your tears then, 
you and I would not be weeping these bitter tears now." 



SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER 
TRINITY. 



SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 

" Make Clean our Hearts within us." 

At one of the ragged schools in Ireland, a clergyman 
asked the poor children before him, What is holiness? " 
Thereupon a poor little Irish boy in tattered rags, jumped 
up and said, " Please, your reverence, it is to be clean in- 
side." Could anything be truer? 

Standing up for Purity. 

Bishop Patteson, who was murdered some years ago, 
while he was fearlessly doing his duty in the islands of 
the Pacific, was once, as a boy, face to face with this diffi- 
culty. He was in the cricket eleven of his school, a good 
player, and very fond of the game. It had become the 
custom at cricket suppers for bad talk to be indulged in. 
Patteson one evening rose up at the table and said, " If 
this conversation is to be allowed I must leave the eleven. 
I cannot share in this conversation. If you determine to 
continue it, I shall have no choice but to go." They did 
not want to lose him, and the foul conversation was 
stopped. He could say with Tennyson's knight: 

" My strength is as the strength of ten, 
Because my heart is pure." 



202 FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



" Keep thyself Pure." 

The other day I caught a butterfly. I took it up in my 
hands as gently as might be, to look at its gold-gleaming 
wings, sprinkled as with dust of gold on a tawny ground. 
As I have said, I took it up gently, for I would not will- 
ingly harm, much more kill, uselessly, any creature to 
which God has given His gift of life. But, whether from 
my eagerness or clumsiness, I brushed off the fine pollen- 
like powder of its wings, and bruised the delicate anten- 
nae. That did not kill this ''thing of beauty"; but, in 
brushing off that dust which only one Hand by its Divine 
chemistry could restore, I " spoiled " it, so that it la- 
boured heavily in its flight as I tossed it up into the 
free vernal air. Thus is it also with certain flowers — as 
the auricula. You stop to touch one of these exquisite 
blossoms. In touching, " ay, with Helen's finger," you 
inevitably brush ofif its powdery, flour-like dust. God who 
made it can sustain on it quivering dew or raindrop, and 
no harm. But let our hands but touch, and it is gone. 
In so removing that dust, you do not absolutely kill the 
plant, but you " spoil " it. An indefinable lustre has 
passed from it. Precisely thus is it wdth the soul when 
brought in contact with coarseness or impurity. 

Secret Sins. 

Two men were at work together one day in a shipyard. 
They were hewing a stick of timber to put into a ship. It 
was a small stick and not worth much. As they cut ofif 
the chips they found a worm, a little worm about half an 
inch long. This stick is wormy," said one; " shall we 
put it in? " " I do not know; yes, I think it may go in; 
it will never be seen, of course." '' Yes, but there may 



SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 203 



be other worms in it, and these may increase and injure 
the ship." " No, I think not. Never mind the worm; 
we have seen but one. Put it in." The stick was accord- 
ingly put in. The ship was finished, and as she was 
launched off into the waters, all ready for the seas, she 
looked beautiful as the swan when the breeze ruffles his 
white-feathered bosom as he sits upon the waves. She 
went to sea, and for a number of years did well. But it 
was found, on a distant voyage, that she grew weak and 
rotten. Her timbers were found all eaten away by 
worms, but the captain thought he would try to get her 
home. It was too late. She kept fiUing with water. 
Then a storm came on and she foundered, and all her 
freight and many lives were lost. All owing to a worm. 

Secret Sins. 

In a late exhibition in London you could see a cable- 
worm, a tiny creature which had pierced through the 
Atlantic telegraph cable and stopped all communication 
between two continents. So a small, hidden sin, or evil 
habit, may stop our prayers, that band of union, which, 
like a telegraph cable, connects earth with Heaven, and 
God's children with their Eternal Father. 

"The Hidden Things of Darkness" Brought to 

Light. 

More than 1,800 years ago a soldier in Pompeii wrote a 
filthy word on the wall of his barracks. Soon the lava and 
cinders of Mt. Vesuvius poured down upon the city 
and burned the impure word into the wall, and buried the 
place deep down beneath fire and ashes. So it lay as a 
hidden thing of darkness " for seventeen hundred years. 



204 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



Then, by accident, the lost and buried city was discov- 
ered, and if you visit Pompeii to-day they will show you 
the very barrack wall and the bad word which was writ- 
ten on it 1, 800 years ago. There it remains still to wit- 
ness against the sinner. 

Secret Sins. 

There are sins secret as the grave, which crush, blight, 
ruin the divine image in man, and tens of thousands 
never hear a warning word against them. There stood 
one on the southern peak of the Isle of Skye and watched 
the eagles as they soared in the deep blue far above his 
head. Suddenly he saw one hesitate, tremble, begin to 
descend, close its wings and fall, dead, a mere mass of 
feathers, to the ground. Out from beneath its body 
crept a tiny weasel which it had captured as its prey, and 
holding which in its talons, it had soared aloft. True to 
its nature, the weasel had writhed from the eagle's talons, 
and, fixing its teeth into its life's blood, had brought him 
to the ground. Thus has many a noble young life, full 
of promise, been crushed and ruined by a secret sin; 
lightly treated, little feared, it has sucked the life-blood 
from the soul. 

The Horrors of Divorce. 

Contrary to God's law and Christ's express command 
(S. Matt. V. 32; S. Luke xvi. 18), the divorce of married 
persons is allowed even in Christian lands. It fills Chris- 
tian Americans with shame to know that the United 
States leads the world in this disgraceful legislation. The 
U.S. Report for 1889 shows that, during the twenty years 
ending with 1886, while there had been in Canada 116 



SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 205 



divorces, in Great Britain and Ireland 5,854, in France 
(including legal " separations ") 59,115, there were in the 
United States for the same period the enormous number 
of 328,716! Think of the awful misery produced by such 
divorces. The plain lesson of all this is that easy divorce 
not only breaks God's law, but creates a thousandfold 
more unhappiness than it attempts to cure. 



EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 



EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 

Effect of Ill-gotten Wealth. 

The only sailor who perished in the Indiaman Kent 
was present in the hold very shortly after the commence- 
ment of the fire which destroyed the vessel. Availing 
himself of the confusion, he hastened to the cabin of the 
second mate, forced open a desk, and took from thence 
400 sovereigns, which he roiled up in a handkerchief and 
tied round his waist; but in attempting to leap into one 
of the boats, he fell short, and the weight of his spoils 
caused him immediately to sink. 

Burning the Bushel. 

In a retired part of the country, a poor widow who kept 
a small shop was addicted to dishonest practices in the 
sale of her goods. At church she heard a sermon upon 
the guilt of deceit and fraud, which made such an impres- 
sion upon her that she resolved never more to indulge 
in her former custom. When she got home she fell on 
her knees to supplicate pardon from God, and to entreat 
His grace to enable her to begin a new life. On the fol- 
lowing morning she burnt her bushel. 



EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 207 



Incorruptible. 

It is related of the great Lord Lawrence that during the 
conduct of some important case for a young Indian 
Rajah, the prince endeavoured to place in his hands, 
under the table, a bag of rupees. " Young man,'' said 
Lawrence, " you have offered to an Englishman the 
greatest insult which he could possibly receive. This 
time, in consideration of your youth, I excuse it. Let 
me warn you by this experience, never again to commit 
so gross an offence against an English gentleman." 

" Clean Hands and a Pure Heart." 

I REMEMBER hearing, years ago, of an old merchant who, 
on his death-bed, divided the results of long years of 
labour, some fev\^ hundreds in all, among his sons. " It 
is little enough, my boys," v^ere almost his last words, 
" but there isn't a dirty shilling in the whole of it." He 
had been a successful man, too, though not in the " self- 
made " sense. For his ideal had been, not to make 
money, but to keep clean hands. 

Selfishness. 

Selfishness is a form of dishonesty! There was a little 
boy once whose father gave him two shillings. He was 
asked w^hat he meant to do with them. He said that he 
should put one in the Missionary box, and keep the other 
for himself. One day he came to his father and told him 
that he had lost one shilling. " Which have you lost? " 
said his father, " Oh, the one I was going to give to the 
Missionaries." 



2o8 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



" Picking and Stealing." 

" Picking," you know, is taking little things that don't 
belong to us, and which we think will not be missed. 
But " picking " is stealing, and is sure to lead on to 
larger thefts. A young man was lately sent to prison for 
several years for robbing his employers of a great sum of 
money. He confessed that he began by stealing a post- 
age stamp. 

True Honesty. 

Rev. Dr. Sargent states that in a slave market in one 
of the Southern States, at which he was present, a smart, 
active coloured boy was put up for sale. A kind master 
who pitied his condition, wishing him not to have a cruel 
owner, went up to him and said, " If I buy you, will you 
be honest? " The boy, with a look that baffled descrip- 
tion, replied, " I will be honest whether you buy me or 
not." 

" Poor but Honest." 

When the inhabitants of rich Pennsylvania set the ex- 
ample of repudiating their debts, many of the poorer 
States wished to follow in their footsteps. A convention 
met at Springfield, the capital of Illinois, and the re- 
pudiation ordinance was offered to the meeting. It 
was about to be adopted, when it was stopped by an hon- 
est man. Stephen A. Douglas was lying sick at his hotel, 
when he desired to be taken to the convention. He was 
carried on a mattress, for he was too ill to walk. Lying 
on his back, he wrote the following resolution, which he 
offered as a substitute for the repudiation ordinance: 
" Resolved^ that Illinois voill he honest, although she never 



EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 



pays a cent." The resolution touched the honest senti- 
ment of every member of the convention. It was adopted 
with enthusiasm. It dealt a death-blow to the system of 
repudiation. Capital and immigration flowed into the 
State; and Illinois is now one of the most prosperous 
States in America. 

The First Step. 

A YOUNG man was once sent to prison for stealing $20,- 
000 from his employer. This is what he told about what 
brought him there: " People will say it was cheating my 
employer of that large sum. But that is a mistake. I 
look back twenty years. I remember one bright summer 
day when my good old uncle sent me to pay a bill for 
him. I got the bill receipted and seventy-two cents were 
given me as change. On my way home the tempter said 
to me, ' If your uncle doesn't ask for them, you might as 
well keep them.' My uncle did not ask and I never gave 
them back. It was that first step that ruined me." 

Danger of Little Sins. 

Do you know how the suspension bridge below Niagara 
Falls was built? The span is some 750 feet, and the 
height of the bridge 238 feet. How were the cables 
stretched from pier to pier? I will tell you. A boy's 
kite was sent up on one side of the river, and carried by 
the wind across to the other. To the string of the kite 
was attached a cord, and to the cord a rope. Thus a com- 
munication was established. So a single sin, even a small 
sin, may draw after it the most weighty consequences. 
Beware of the first sin, the first oath, the first glass, or the 
little theft 
14 



2IO 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



Honesty toward God. 

When a friend spoke to a man in New York who was 
noted for his Hberality concerning this generosity of his, 
he said: I am not generous; I am by nature extremely 
avaricious. But when I was a young man I had sense 
enough to see how mean and behtthng such a position 
was, and I forced myself to give. At first, I declare to 
you, it was a torture to part with a penny; but I persisted, 
until the habit of liberality was formed. There is no 
yoke like that of a habit. Now, I like to give." 

Danger of a Single Sin. 

A PIN-POINT hole in a dyke will widen into a gap as big 
as a church door in ten minutes by the pressure of the 
flood behind it. The single acts become habits with 
awful rapidity. 

The Secret of being Honest. 

" Johnnie," said a man, winking slyly to a salesman of 
his acquaintance, ''you must give me good measure: 
your master is not in." Johnnie looked into the man's 
face, and replied, "My Master is always in'' Johnnie's 
master was the all-seeing God. 

Honest Sandy. 

" On a cold winter day, a gentleman in Edinburgh had, 
out of pity, bought a box of matches from a poor little 
shivering boy, and, as he had no pence, had given him a 
shilling, of which the change was to be brought to his 
hotel. Hours passed by, and the boy did not return. 
Very late in the evening a mere child came to the hotel. 



EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 211 



' Are you the gentleman that bought the matches frae 
Sandy? ' ' Yes.' ' Weel, then, here's fourpence out o' 
yer shilHn'. Sandy canna come. He's verra ill. A cart 
ran ower him and knocked him doon, and he lost his bon- 
net and his matches and yer sevenpence, and baith his 
legs are broken, and the doctor says he'll dee; and that's 
a'.' And then, putting down the fourpence on the table, 
the poor child burst into great sobs. 

" ' So I fed the little man,' said the narrator; ' and I 
went with him to see Sandy. The two little things were 
living almost alone. Their father and mother were dead. 
Poor Sandy was lying on a bundle of shavings. He 
knew me as soon as I came in, and said, ' I got the 
change, sir, and was coming back, and then the cart 
knocked me down, and both my legs were broken; and 
oh, Reuby, little Reuby! I am sure I am dying, and who 
will take care of you when I am gone? What will ye 
do? ' I took his hand, and said I would always take care 
of Reuby. He understood me, and had just strength 
enough to look up as if to thank me; and then the light 
went out of his blue eyes. In a moment 

' He lay within the light of God, 
Like a babe upon the breast. 
Where the wicked cease from troubling, 
And the weary are at rest.' " 



NINTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 



NINTH COMMANDMENT. 

" Mother never Told me a Lie." 

A BOY was discovered one morning lying in the grass of 
Claiborne street, New Orleans, evidently bright and in- 
telligent, but sick. A man who had feelings of kindness 
went to him, shook him by the shoulder, and asked him 
what he was doing there. " Waiting for God to come 
for me." "What do you mean?" said the gentleman, 
touched by the sorrowful tone of the answer, and the con- 
dition of the boy, in whose eye and flushed face he saw 
the signs of fever. " God sent for mother and father and 
little brother," said he, " and took them away to His 
home up in the sky: and mother told me, when she was 
sick, that God would take care of me. I have no home — 
nobody to give me anything; and so I came out here, and 
have been looking so long up in the sky for God to come 
and take care of me, as mother said He would. He will 
come, won't He? Mother never told me a lie." " Yes, 
my lad," said the man, overcome with emotion, " He has 
sent me to take care of you." You should have seen the 
boy's eyes flash, and the smile of triumph break over his 
face as he said, Mother never told me a lie, sir, but 
you've been so long on the way! " What a lesson of 
trust! and how this story shows us we ought never to 



214 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



deceive children with idle tales! As the poor mother ex- 
pected, when she told her son that " God would take care 
of him," so He did, by touching the heart of this benevo- 
lent man with compassion and love to the little stranger. 

True to his Word. 

When Regulus was sent by the Carthaginians, whose 
prisoner he was, to Rome, with a convoy of ambassadors 
to sue for peace, it was under the condition that he should 
return to his prison if peace were not effected. He took 
the oath, and swore that he would come back. When he 
appeared at Rome he urged the senators to persevere in 
the war, and not to agree to the exchange of prisoners. 
That involved his return to captivity at Carthage. The 
senators, and even the chief priest, held that as his oath 
had been wrested from him by force, he was not bound to 
go. Have you resolved to dishonour me? " asked 
Regulus. " I am not ignorant that death and tortures are 
preparing for me; but what are these to the shame of an 
infamous action, or the wounds of a guilty mind? Slave 
as I am to Carthage, I have still the spirit of a Roman. 
I have sworn to return. It is my duty to go. Let the 
gods take care of the rest." Regulus returned to Car- 
thage, and died under torture. 

Lying Worse than Stealing. 

A LITTLE girl once said to her mother, " I've been think- 
ing that it's worse to lie than to steal." "Why?" said 
her mother. Well, you see," said the child, " if you steal 
anything, when you are sorry for it, you can give it, or 
the price of it, back. But if it's a lie, it is gone for ever." 



NINTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 215 



A Child's Definition of Scandal. 

Some girls were asked by one of the inspectors of 
schools, at a school examination, whether they knew 
what was the meaning of the word " scandal." One little 
girl stepped forward, and throwing her hand up, attracted 
the notice of the inspector. He desired her to answer 
the question; upon which she uttered these memorable 
words: "Nobody does nothing, and everybody goes on tell- 
ing of it everywhere." 

The Test of the Tongue. 

Let me look at your tongue," is the first word of the 
physician to a sick man. That is a sure test of the condi- 
tion of his bodily health. It is an equally good test of the 
condition of a man's heart and soul. 

No Need of an Oath. 

Petrarch, the great poet of Italy, was known for his 
perfect truthfulness and sincerity. Once he had to appear 
in court as a witness, and one of the officers proceeded 
to administer to him the usual oath that he would tell 
the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth." 
But just then the judge rose and said, " Never mind. It 
is not necessary for Petrarch to take that oath, for every- 
one knows that he never speaks anything but the truth." 

Only one Tongue. 

An old writer says that the Lord has given us all our 
other members twofold: two eyes, two ears, two hands, 
two feet, but only one tongue, as if we were not fitted to 
be intrusted with more. 



2l6 



^FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



What the Deaf Man Heard. 

A DEAF man told a friend that Mr. A. and Mr, B. had had 
a serious quarrel, and that Mr. B. was quite wrong. 
" What was it about? " said his friend. " That I do not 
know," said the deaf man, " for I did not hear one word 
of it." "Then how do you know which was right?" 

Oh, easily enough," said the deaf man. " Mr. B. lost his 
temper, and spoke very loud, while Mr. A. was as cool all 
the while as I am at this moment." 

Much Speaking. 

" The heart of fools is in their mouth : but the mouth of 
the wise is in their heart." — Ecclu. xxi. 26. 

Dare to be True. 

Dare to be true: nothing can need a lie: 

A fault, which needs it most, grows two thereby." 

— Herbert. 

" The Tongue is a Firer" 

A HALF century ago a set of miners, of an extensive coal 
mine in Germany, took umbrage at something said 
or done by another set who were fellow workmen, 
and they determined to have revenge by setting a mass 
of coal then in the mine on fire and so " smoke tDut " as 
well as seriously frighten them. The fire was kindled, 
and they had their revenge. But alas! the fire communi- 
cated to the vein of coal itself and they could not put it 
out. Fifty years have passed away, and if any of the 
actors in this wicked deed are living they must be old 
men. A generation has faded into the awful past, the 



NINTH SUNDA V AFTER TRINITY. 



217 



angry passion of those who sought revenge has become 
only a story occasionally told; but that fire, kindled a half 
century ago, in that mine burns fiercely on — and no 
earthly skill has yet found the way to extinguish it. 
Burning on, ever consuming, what a fitting type of the 
unceasing power of sins of the tongue — of the never-end- 
ing fire which they kindle! 

Cure for Evil Temper. 

A WOMAN was always complaining of being beaten by 
her husband. An honest man said to her: " I will give 
you some medicine, and if you will keep it in your mouth, 
your husband will ill-treat you no more." He gave her 
some water, and she put it into her mouth the first time 
she saw her husband in a rage. His anger soon passed 
away, and he left her in peace. She afterwards asked the 
man who gave her the water, where he had got it. He 
replied: " It is to be found in every well. Be silent when 
your husband is angry, and he will never ill-treat you." 

We cannot Bring them Back. 

A STORY is told of a woman who freely used her tongue 
to the scandal of others, telling her pastor, under reflec- 
tion, what she had done. He gave her a ripe thistle-top, 
and told her to go out in various directions and scatter 
the seeds one by one. Wondering at the request, she 
obeyed, and then returned. To her amazement, he bade 
her go back and gather the scattered seeds; and when 
she objected that it would be impossible, he replied that 
it would be still more impossible to gather up and destroy 
all evil reports which she had circulated about others. 
Any thoughtless, careless child can scatter a handful of 



2l8 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



thistle seeds before the wind in a moment; but the 
strongest and wisest man cannot gather them again. 



"Whatsoever a Man Soweth." 

We scatter seeds with careless hand, 

And dream we ne'er shall see them more, 
But for a thousand years 
Their fruit appears, 
In weeds that mar the land, 
Or healthful store. 

The deeds we do, the words we say, 
Into still air they seem to fleet; 
We count them ever past; 
But they shall last — 
In the dread Judgment they 
And we shall meet." 

— lohn Keble, 



111 Ears Make 111 Tongues. 

The following sentence from Robert South will bear 
more than one reading: " It is most certain that ill 
tongues would be silent if ill ears were not open, and 
hence it was an apposite saying of the ancients that the 
teller and hearer of slander should both be hanged — the 
one by the tongue and the other by the ear." 



Truth-tellers and Truth-lovers. 

The boy Washington said, " I cannot tell a lie," and the 
great King Alfred of England was called the Truth- 
teller." The Duke of Wellington also, who won Water- 



NINTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 



219 



loo, was famous for his love of truth. Here is what a 
famous poet says of the two : 

" Truth-teller was our England's Alfred named; 
Truth-lover was our English Duke; 
Whatever record leap to light, 
He never shall be shamed." 

— Tennyson, 

No Lie even to Save his Life. 

A BOY of ten was found on a steamer from Liverpool to 
New York hidden away among some casks. He was a 
" stowaway," trying to get a free passage. The chief mate 
questioned the little fellow, who told him his stepfather 
had put him on board, giving him some food, and bid- 
ding him to make his way to an aunt in Halifax. The 
sailors believed the story, but not so the mate. Some 
of these men of mine are in the secret," he said. Point 
out this minute the man w^ho stowed and fed you." The 
boy only looked up and answered, " I have told you the 
truth and have nothing more to say." The mate turned 
angrily to the crew, and gave this order, Reeve a rope 
to the yard." Then pointing to the cord which hung 
from the yard-arm, the mate said to the little stowaway, 
You see that rope, my lad? I'll give you ten minutes to 
confess, and if you do not tell the truth before the time is 
up, I hang you like a dog." The little fellow turned pale 
but never flinched, whilst the crew began to utter angry 
murmurs at the mate. Eight minutes," cried the mate. 
" You'd best be quick." " I cannot tell a lie," answered 
the lad, " but please let me say my prayers." The mate 
nodded, and the boy went down on his knees and re- 
peated the prayer his mother had taught him. Then 



220 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



rising, he said very quietly, " Now Fm ready." In a 
moment a change came over the stern mate's face. Tears 
sprang to his eyes, and he caught the boy in his arms, 
and cried, " God bless you, my boy; you're a true Eng- 
lishman, every inch of you. You would not tell a lie to 
save your life." 

Punishment of Lying. 

When Aristotle, who was a Grecian philosopher, and the 
tutor of Alexander the Great, was once asked what a man 
could gain by uttering falsehoods, he replied, Not to be 
credited when he shall tell the truth." In the country of 
Siam he who tells a lie is punished, according to law, by 
having his mouth sewed up. 

" The Tongue is a Fire." 

So S. James tells us, and he adds, Behold how great a 
matter a little fire kindleth." (S. James iii. 5.) There was 
once a great library in Alexandria in Egypt. It had 700,- 
000 volumes, and contained nearly all the wisdom of the 
world up to that time, but it was all burnt. A little spark 
got in one day among the books, and what it took thou- 
sands and thousands of people to do was all destroyed, 
and the world has been very much poorer ever since. 
Yet it was only a little spark. And " the tongue is a fire." 
Remember this when you are tempted to say an untrue 
or an angry word. 

" Slander Book." 

Some one tells that he once saw the title " Slander 
Book " printed on the back of a small account book. On 
examining it he found that the various members of the 
household were charged so much apiece for each slander. 



NINTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 



A good reminder, was it not? How many fines would we 
have to pay at the end of a week or a year if such a 
slander book " were kept for us? And yet is there not 
such a book kept by One who knows all? 

Tell the Good Things. 

When Peter the Great heard any one evil spoken of he 
would say, " Tell me, has he a bright side? Let me hear 
what good things you have noticed in him." 

Putting Gossips to the Test. 

It is told of Hannah More that she had a good way of 
managing tale-bearers. It is said that whenever she was 
told anything derogatory to another, her invariable reply 
was, " Come, we will go and ask if this be true." The ef- 
fect was sometimes ludicrously painful. The tale-bearer 
was taken aback, stammered out a qualification, or 
begged that no notice be taken of the statement. But the 
good lady was inexorable; ofif she took the scandal-mon- 
ger to the scandalised to make inquiry and compare ac- 
counts. It is not likely that anybody ever a second time 
ventured to repeat a gossipy story to Hannah More. 
One would think her method of treatment would be a 
sure cure for scandal. 

" That I Offend not in my Tongue." 

A YOUNG man about to enter a monastery once went to 
an aged monk and asked him for advice for his new 
course of life. The old man opened his Psalter and be- 
gan to read the 39th Psalm, — I said, I will heed to my 
ways that I of¥end not in my tongue." That is enough," 
said the young man, when he had read so far. " Let me 



222 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



now go home and practise it." Long, long after, being 
asked by one of his brethren whether he were yet perfect 
in his first lesson, the saint, now in his turn an aged man, 
replied, " Forty and nine years have I dwelt in this des- 
ert, and yet I am only just beginning to learn how to 
keep this commandment." 

" Set a Watch, O Lord, before my Mouth." 

That was a wise saying of a man who was asked why he 
had made no answer to one who reviled him. " I have 
often," said he, " had to repent of having spoken, but 
never of being silent." 

Much Speaking. 

" Some folks' tongues are like the clocks as run on strik- 
ing not to tell the time o' the day, but because there's 
summit wrong in their inside." — George Eliot. 



NINTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 

{Contiyiiied), 



TENTH COMMANDMENT. 

Covetousness never Satisfied. 

An old gentleman once asked a lad when was a covetous 
man rich enough. " When he has a thousand pounds," 
was the reply. " No." " Two thousand." " No." 

Twenty thousand." " No." A hundred thousand," 
said the lad at last in desperation; and still being told 
" No," he confessed he could not say. His questioner 
then informed him — When he has a little more than he 
has, and that is never." 

Contentment. 

An Italian bishop struggled through great difficulties, 
without repining or betraying the least impatience. One 
of his intimate friends, who highly admired the virtues 
which he thought it impossible to imitate, one day asked 
the prelate if he could communicate the secret of being 
always easy. " Yes," replied the old man, I can teach 
you my secret with great facility: it consists in nothing 
more than making a right use of my eyes." His friend 
begged of him to explain himself. " Most willingly," 
returned the bishop. " In whatever state I am, I first of 
all look up to heaven, and remember that my principal 



224 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



business here is to get there; I then look down upon the 
earth, and call to mind how small a place I shall occupy 
in it, when I die and am buried; I then look abroad in the 
world, and observe what multitudes there are who are in 
all respects more unhappy than myself. Thus I learn 
where true happiness is placed, where all our cares must 
end; and what little reason I have to repine or to com- 
plain." 

Giving to God the Remedy for Covetousness. 

So our Lord tells us — " Give alms " (S. Luke xii. 33). 
But that cannot be acceptable which is offered grudging- 
ly. The Lord loveth a cheerful giver." There was 
once a stingy man who, though well off, always gave 
only a penny in the offertory. One day by mistake he 
gave a shilling. " Well, I shall get credit for the shilling 
at all events," said he to a friend. Not at all," answered 
his friend; " you will only get credit for a penny." 

Contentment. 

How dismal you look! " said a bucket to his companion 
as they were going to the well. " Ah! " replied the other, 
" I was reflecting on the uselessness of our being filled; 
for, let us go away ever so full, we always come back 
empty." " Dear me! how strange to look at it in this 
w^ay! " said the first bucket. " Now I enjoy the thought, 
that however empty we come, we always go back full. 
Only look at it in that light, and you will be as cheerful 
as I am." 

Breach of one Commandment. 

As David with a little stone slew Goliath, because his 
forehead was open, so can our enemy easily deal with us 



NINTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 225 

if he observe any faculty naked and neglected. Or take 
the illustration of a watch. If one wheel breaks, the 
whole stops. Though we may never openly break any 
of the first nine Commandments, yet if we covet to break 
them — thai is, if we harbour the angry or the impure 
thought in our hearts, " we are guilty of all." Hence 
the Jews called the Tenth Commandment " the Hedge of 
the Law," because it protects all the rest. 

" Beware of Covetousness." 

CovETOUSNESS is like the frost-bite, unfelt by him whom 
yet it chills and deadens. S. Francis Xavier, the famous 
Jesuit missionary, said that, out of thousands and thou- 
sands of confessions that he had heard, he did not re- 
member one where the penitent acknowledged that he 
was covetous. How much need then for our Lord's red 
danger-signal of a double warning, " Take heed — be- 
ware!" 

A Root-extractor. 

When emigrants go to the Far West, sometimes the only 
land that they can buy is all covered with forest. In 
order to turn it into a farm, where they can raise corn and 
wheat and potatoes, they must first cut down the trees. 
But when this is done and the lumber is hauled away, the 
stumps or roots still remain in the ground. These must 
also be removed before there can be any good farming- 
done. Now some one has invented a machine called a 
root-extractor. It has strong iron hooks which are fast- 
ened to the roots, and then by turning a crank or wheel 
the tough, gnarled roots are torn out by main force, and 
the rich virgin soil of the forest is left clear. Now, our 
15 



226 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



hearts are just like that field. The trees are our sinful 
habits and we must cut them down. But even that is not 
enough ; we must get the roots out as well, else there can 
be no harvest of good grain. The Tenth Commandment 
is like that root-extractor. 



TENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 



PRAYER. 

A Child's Prayer and Faith. 

In a very remote part of Ulster Co., N. Y., among its for- 
ests and mountains, lives little Nellie Osborn, a child of 
six years. Her father and mother were both suddenly 
stricken with fever, being unable to leave their beds. 
Living in an isolated place, far from neighbours, and 
being scantily supplied with the necessaries of life at this 
severe and inclement season, with snow lying three or 
four feet deep everywhere, the situation may be imagined. 
Little Nellie did what she could to alleviate the sufferings 
of her parents in every way. It was bitter cold, their rude 
little house offered poor resistance to the winds, bed- 
covering was not abundant, and the supply of fire-wood 
finally gave out. The little girl took her wooden play- 
things and tried to keep the fire going with them. Then 
she kneeled by the couch of her sick mother and prayed: 
" Please, dear Lord, send a big, good man to help us." 
Help came in the person of James McGavitt, a lumber- 
man of the mountains, who found the family in the con- 
dition stated, and afforded prompt relief. Little Nellie 
became sick with the fever afterward. Assistance has 
now been offered by a charitable lady of Irvington, whose 
sympathy was excited by the child's sacrifice of her toys. 



228 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



God Honoured by Large Asking. 

Alexander the Great had at his court a famous 
though indigent philosopher. On one occasion, when he 
was particularly straitened in his circumstances, he ap- 
plied to Alexander for relief, who instantly gave him an 
order upon his treasury for whatever sum he wanted. 
The philosopher demanded, in the conquering monarch's 
name, ten thousand pounds. The treasurer, surprised at 
so large a demand, not only refused to pay the sum, but 
immediately repaired to the king, stated to him the af- 
fair, and represented how unreasonable he thought the 
petition, and how exorbitant the sum. Alexander heard 
him patiently, and when he had finished, he said, " Let 
the money be instantly paid. I am delighted with this 
philosopher's way of thinking; he has done me a singular 
honour. By the largeness of his request he shows the 
high idea he has conceived both of my superior wealth' 
and my royal munificence." Thus may the children of 
God honour the munificent liberality of their " Father 
who is in heaven." They cannot ask for gifts which will 
impoverish Him. Let them ask and receive and their 
joy shall be full. 

Hindrances to Prayer. 

Satan trembles when he sees 
The weakest saint upon his knees." 

Therefore he does all he can to hinder us from praying. 

Prayer without Words. 

The Cure d'Ars said one day to an old parishioner, 
whom he saw daily in the church absorbed in prayer: 



TENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 



My good friend, what do you say to our Lord in those 
long prayers which ycu make to Him every day? " I 
say nothing to Him " was the reply. " / look at Him, and 
He looks at me." 

The Seven Hours of Prayer. 

At Matins bound, at Prime reviled, 

Condemned to death at Tierce, 
Nailed to the Cross at Sext, 

At Nones His blessed side they pierce: 
They take Him down at Vesper-tide, 

In grave at Compline lay, 
So thenceforth holy zeal observes, 

These sevenfold Hours alway. 

The Spider-web in the Yard. 

Up to walls, down to walls, shooting to chimney-tops, 
fastened to the cross-trees of poles, running this way, that 
way, diagonally, straight up, right across — oh, what a 
quantity of telegraph-wires I saw! It was a spider-web 
in a little court about which went the walls of lofty build- 
ings honeycombed with offices. It was a spider-web in 
the multiplicity of lines, and in their definite, regular at- 
tachment also. All this array of wires meant something. 
Each one was born of a definite purpose, and went from 
one definite locality to another. How many messages 
traversed those lines! As I stood at the window from 
which I had this look into the little court, I thought of a 
good man's closet from which stretch out so many wires 
of prayer. They shoot to such multiplied points. One 
wire is for an absent child, another goes to an old grey- 
haired mother, a third to his church, a fourth to the 



230 FIVE HUNDRED STORIES, 

government over him, a fifth to a mission station in 
Japan, and so on, running all over the world. The good 
man's closet of prayer is the centre of a spider-web whose 
lines ramify in every direction. Standing at the window 
and looking out into the dusky, walled court, I thought 
of one other thing. The men who used those wires be- 
lieved that they could send messages and also obtain an- 
swers by them. They believed in the electric wire. Go 
into that office. You state a certain errand you have. 

Wait," says the man who receives you. Let me tele- 
phone about it." He expects to receive an answer. He 
has entire confidence in that little metallic apparatus. 
Ought a Christian to have less faith in prayer? Your 
wires, man or woman of God, go by way of heaven. 
They touch child, church, the country, but they first 
touch God. Shall we have less confidence in God than in 
human machinery? Have we not His promise, He shall 
call upon Me, and I will hear him "? 

Perseverance in Prayer. 

I HAVE seen a lark rising from his bed of grass and 
soaring upwards, singing as he rises, and hoping to get to 
heaven and climb above the clouds. But the poor bird 
was beaten back with the loud sighings of an eastern 
wind, and his motion made irregular and inconstant, de- 
scending more at every breath of the tempest than it 
could recover by the libration and frequent weighing of 
his wings, till the little creature was forced to sit down 
and pant, and stay till the storm was over. Then it 
made a prosperous flight, and did rise and sing, as if it 
had learned music and motion from an angel, as he 
passed sometimes through the air, about his ministries 
here below: so is the prayer of a good man." 



TENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 



231 



The Power of Prayer. 

Prayer sets in motion all great powers. The Princess 
of Wales launched a great ironclad by turning a little sil- 
ver handle in a box in the dockyard. K young officer in 
Egypt, lying wounded in the neck, saw an Arab come 
with a rope and drag about the wounded round him. He 
expected his turn next, and put up a feeble prayer. In a 
few minutes he heard the well-known gallop of the Life 
Guards coming to carry off the wounded. Saved! 

Too Busy not to Pray. 

Said a great man once, " I have so much business to do 
to-day that I shall not be able to get through it w^ith less 
than three hours' prayer." Now, most people would say, 

I have so much business to do to-day that I can have 
only three minutes' prayer; I cannot afford the time." 
But this man thought that the more he had to do, the 
more he mxust pray, or else he could not get through it. 
That is a blessed kind of logic: may we understand it! 

Prayer and provender hinder no man's journey." 

Heart Prayer. 

Though in the old Jewish law the priest did not continu- 
ally offer sacrifices unto the Lord, yet fire was continually 
burning upon the altar, and never went out. So, though 
we do not continually offer to God " the calves of our 
lips," yet the fire of devotion and spiritual fervency must 
be continually burning in our hearts, and never go out. 
And this is the true meaning of the Apostle's exhortation 
— " Pray without ceasing." 



232 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



Cold Prayers. 

Cold prayers are as arrows without heads, as swords 
without edges, as birds without wings; they pierce not, 
they cut not, they fly not up to Heaven. But, " The 
prayer of the humble pierceth the clouds " (Ecclu. 
XXXV. 17). 

" Instant in Prayer." 

S. Paul's term, instant in prayer," being used by 
Stonewall " Jackson one day, his sense of its meaning 
was required. I can give you," he said, " my idea of it 
by illustration, if you will allow it, and will not think that 
I am setting myself up as a model for others." On assur- 
ance being given that there would be no misjudgment, 
he went on to say, I have so fixed the habit in my own 
mind, that I never raise a glass of water to my lips with- 
out a moment asking God's blessing. I never seal a letter 
without putting a word of prayer under the seal. I never 
take a letter from the post without a brief sending of my 
thought heavenward. I never change my classes in the 
section-room without a minute's petition on the cadets 
who come in." And don't you sometimes forget to do 
this? " " I think I scarcely can say that I do; the habit 
has become as fixed almost as breathing." 

The Russian Boy's Letter to God. 

A FEW years ago a government official in St. Petersburg 
died, leaving motherless and without friend two little chil- 
dren, a boy of seven and a girl of three. Left in the house 
alone, the little fellow did not know what to do to get 
food for his sister. At last, urged by the tears of the little 
one, he wrote on a piece of paper in a large, round hand, 



TENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 



233 



" Please, God, send me three copeks (pennies) to buy my 
little sister a roll." Then he hurried off to the nearest 
church to slip it into an almsbox, believing in his sim- 
plicity that the prayer would reach Heaven in that way. 
And so it did. A priest passing by observed the child on 
tiptoe trying to thrust the paper in, and taking the paper 
from him, read the message. Returning home with the 
child, he brought away the little ones to his own house 
and gave them the food and clothing they so much 
needed. On the following Sunday he preached a sermon 
on Charity, in which he mentioned this touching inci- 
dent, and asked the people's offerings for the children. 
When the offerings were counted it was found that 
enough had been given to keep the little ones for several 
years. The prayer was answered. 

Spirit of the Lord's Prayer. 

The spirit of the Lord's Prayer is beautiful. The form of 
petition breathes a filial spirit, " Father " ; a catholic 
spirit, " Our Father " ; a reverential spirit, " Hallowed be 
thy name "; a missionary spirit, Thy kingdom come "; 
an obedient spirit, "Thy will be done on earth"; a de- 
pendent spirit, "Give us this day our daily bread"; a 
forgiving spirit, " And forgive us our trespasses as we 
forgive them that trespass against us "; a cautious spirit, 
" Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil "; 
a confidential and adoring spirit, " For thine is the king- 
dom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. 
Amen." 

Prayer like a Bell-rope. 

Prayer is the rope in the belfry: we pull it, and it rings 
the bells up in Heaven. 



f 

234 FIVE HUNDRED STORIES, 

Symbol of United Prayer. 

Looking at some beautiful pictures of the recently com- 
pleted Cologne Cathedral, there came back to mind 
thoughts and suggestions which are always starte.d by the 
presence of a large Gothic building. Surely such a build- 
ing as we have in mind is the illustration in stone of the 
idea of " United Prayer." It is a series of points and pin- 
nacles, from the ground to the top of the great spire. 
Every window is a pointed arch; every buttress goes up 
to a point; every roof ridge is guided off into little uplift- 
ing spires; the great roof itself points up; and the whole 
building seems to unite in the great spire, which pierces 
away into the sky, and seems to carry the united cry of 
the whole building up to God. 

Not Heard in Heaven." 

A LEGEND tells US that there was once a community of 
monks who, with their abbot, lived a holy life and sought 
in every way to glorify God. But, owing to some cause 
or other, not one of them had a voice for singing. They 
united every evening in the Magnificat, but they got 
through it with feelings of shame, and again and again 
besought God to forgive them, and, if it were His will, 
to send them a singer. One Christmas Eve a stranger 
brother happened with them, and when they united in 
holy service he sang the hymn of praise. As he sang, in 
notes of wondrous sweetness, the brothers listened in si- 
lence and thanked God that for once the Magnificat had 
been well sung in their house. It was as though a seraph 
stood in their midst, and the echoes lingered like celestial 
music in the dim and distant aisles. That night, how- 
ever, an angel came to the good abbot as he slept, and 



TENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 235 



asked him why the Magnificat had not been sung. It 
was indeed sung," answered the holy man/' sung as never 
before; not by us in our broken, trembUng way, but by a 
brother of marvellous power." " It was not heard in 
Heaven," said the angel sadly; "your hymn was ever 
listened to because it was the outpouring of a pure heart, 
but that man sings for love of self and praise." 

The Power of Prayer. 

Not long ago two little children, rambling from home 
over a wild and dangerous part of Dartmoor, lost their 
way. Utterly unable to find the right path, they sat down, 
and cried bitterly. And what did you do next? " was 
the question put to them afterwards. I said, ' Our 
Father,' " answered the boy, " and sister said, ' Gentle 
Jesus.' " Then they made another attempt, and discov- 
ered a mxoorland road which led them safely home. 
Surely the conduct of those little ones, lost on the moor, 
has a lesson for us. If any of us have wandered from the 
right way, and lost sight of our Father's House, and 
fallen among the dangers of a sinful world, what can we 
do better than shed tears of sorrowful repentance; what 
can we do better than cry to Our Father and Gentle 
Jesus? 

Praying and Working. 

A LITTLE girl was telling a friend of her father's that her 
brothers set traps to catch birds, and that she did not like 
it. The gentleman asked her what she did, and she said, 

I prayed that the traps might not catch the birds." 

Anything else? " he asked. " Yes," she said; I then 
prayed that God would prevent the birds from getting 



f 

236 FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 

into the traps." ''Anything else?" ''Yes, I went and 
kicked the traps all to pieces." 

Fervent Prayer. 

An arrow, if it be drawn up but a little way, goes not far, 
but if it be pulled up to the head, flies swiftly, and pierces 
deep. Thus prayer, if it be only dribbled forth from care- 
less lips, falls at our feet. It is the strength of ejaculation 
and strong desire which sends it to Heaven, and makes 
it pierce the clouds. It is not the arithmetic of our 
prayers, how many they are; nor the rhetoric of our pray- 
ers, how eloquent they be; nor the geometry of our 
prayers, how long they be; nor the music of our prayers, 
how sweet our voice may be ; nor the logic of our prayers, 
how argumentative they may be; nor the method of our 
prayers, how orderly they may be, which God cares for. 
All these might be of no avail. Fervency of spirit is that 
which availeth much. 

Silent Prayer. 

" Prayer is the soul's sincere desire, 
Uttered or unexpressed, 
The motion of a hidden fire 
That trembles in the breast." 

— Montgomery. 
Elevation by Prayer. 
CoNSTANTiNE THE Great was ouc day looking at some 
statues of noted persons, who wxre represented standing. 
" I shall have mine taken kneeling," said he; " for that is 
how I have risen to eminence." Thus it is with the 
Christian: if he would obtain any real eminence in the 
Christian life, he must be often kneeling in prayer to 
God. 



t 



ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER 
TRINITY. 

PRAYER. 

The Amen of the Rocks. 

Though blind with age, forth Beda went with zeal 
The tidings of salvation to proclaim. 
Through town and hamlet, guided by a boy, 
The pious father wandered, full of love, 
And preached ^o dying men the word of Life. 

The boy once guided him into a vale 
O'erstrewn with rocks and empty heaps of stone, 
And there in wantonness, not malice, said: 

Most rev'rend father, many men are here, 
And wait to hear the word of Gospel truth." 

The blind old man arose with joyful haste, 
Chose him a text, explained it and applied, 
Exhorted, warned, rebuked and comforted 
So loving that the tears rolled down his cheeks 
And gently hid themselves in his grey beard. 
When in conclusion then, as it is fit. 
He prayed the prayer the Saviour taught, and said: 
" Thine is the kingdom. Thine the pow'r, and Thine 
The glory unto all eternity," 



ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 239 



There burst out from the vale a mighty shout: 
"Amen, most rev'rend father," and " Amen! " 

The boy was frightened; kneehng down, with shame 
He to the holy Saint confessed the sin. 
" Son," said the father, " hast thou never read 
When men are silent, rocks and stones will cry? 
Mock, nevermore, O son, the Word of God! 
A two-edged sword it is, and quick, and sharp. 
And powerful. And if the heart of man 
Should turn to stone, defying truth and love, 
The rock with human heart would throb aloud." 

God's Answer to Prayer. 

In a child's hospital the other day a little girl was laid 
suffering from partial fracture of the hip, accompanied 
by painful abscesses. It became necessary that the child's 
leg should be removed, but there was some doubt 
whether she could bear it, being much exhausted. The 
information w^as conveyed to her by the sister in charge 
that next day the operation was to be performed, and that 
it would be a painful one. In the evening the sister heard 
the child patients in the ward talking the matter over. 

Sister said that it would be very dreadful pain to bear, 
and that Mary must pray God to help her through it," 
said one. And after much discussion the children de- 
cided to pray together that He might strengthen Mary, 
and that the doctor might not be allowed to hurt her very 
much. And there arose in the ward a concert of little 
voices to Jesus Christ, who loveth children and suffereth 
them to come to Him. But a doubt sprang up. There 
were many ]\Iarys in the ward; how was Christ, when He 
visited the sleeping hospital, to discover which patient 



■9 



240 FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 

needed His grace? " I know," said the Mary in ques- 
tion; I will cross my arms on my breast and go to sleep 
so." And then again rose the united prayer for help for 
the little Mary who should lie all night with arms crossed. 
In that night He who heareth prayer called the little 
spirit home. — Baring-Gould. 

"Mother will Understand." 

There was a little boy once whose mother lay ill in the 
hospital. The child fancied his mother would not have 
left him if she had loved him, and he determined to send 
her a letter, and find out. He was quite unable to write, 
but he scrawled all over the paper, as little children will, 
and begged his friends to carry it to his mother; then," 
said he, " I shall see if she loves me." The messenger 
laughed at rhe strange letter, and declared that no one 
could make it out. Mother will understand," said the 
child. And when Eddie's scrawl was given to her, she 
recognized at once the work of her child's fingers, and 
understood his meaning. My brothers, our prayers are 
often as badly put together as Eddie's scrawl, but the 
Good God knows His children's meaning. 

Why he was not Afraid. 

The still form of a little boy lay in the coffin, surrounded 
by mourning friends. A mason came into the room and 
asked to look at the lovely face. You wonder that I 
care so much," he said, as the tears rolled down his 
cheeks, " but your boy was a messenger of God to me. 
One time I was coming down by a long ladder from a 
very high roof, and found your little boy standing close 
beside me when I reached the ground. He looked up 



ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 241 



in my face with childish wonder, and asked frankly: 
' Weren't you afraid of falling when you were up so 
high?' and before I had time to answer, he said: ' Oh, 
I know why you were not afraid — you said your prayers 
this morning before you began your work! ' I had not 
prayed; but I never forgot to pray from that day to this, 
and by God's blessing I never will." 

Trust in our Heavenly Father. 

S. CuTHBERT, the great missionary bishop of North- 
umberland, was driven by a snowstorm on the coast of 
Fife. " The snow closes the road along the shore," 
mourned his comrades. The storm bars the way over 
the sea." There is still the way of Heaven that lies 
open," said Cuthbert. 

Straight into God's Arms. 

There is nothing equal to child-like trust in God's pro- 
tecting arm for taking us through the emergencies of 
life which come sooner or later to each. We all realise 
this, but do we put it into practice? A party in a stage- 
coach among the mountains as they came to a partic- 
ularly rough place found their horses had become 
unmanageable. The driver shouted and coaxed, and 
the passengers became very much frightened. Some 
screamed, others tried to jump out, and all were pale with 
fright — all but one little girl, who sat quietly by her 
mother's side in the general hubbub. " Don't cry, 
mother, don't cry! " she said, patting her mother's cheek. 
" If we upset we shall fall straight into God's arms." 
Who of all those there present but felt rebuked by the 
sweet trust of this dear child! 
16 



41 



TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER 
TRINITY. 



OUR FATHER, HALLOWED, THY KINGDOM, 
THY WILL. 

" Our Father.'* 

The Mohammedans are said to have ninety-nine names 
for God, but among them all they have not " Our 
Father." 

*'My Father." 

A LITTLE girl was on board a ship in the midst of a great 
storm, and amidst the howling of the winds and the 
dashing of the waves, she was found perfectly quiet and 
happy. When she was asked by one of the passengers 
how it was that she was so calm and quiet when every 
one else was so frightened, she gave the answer, " Be- 
cause my father is at the helm." She knew her father, 
and could trust him. And have not we a mightier 
Father? 

A Higher Will. 

A LITTLE boy sat in front of his father and held the reins 
which controlled a restive horse. Unknown to the boy, 
the reins passed around him and were also in his father's 



244 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



hands. He saw occasion to pull them. With artless 
simplicity the child looked around, saying: " Father, I 
thought I was driving; but I am not, am I? " Thus it is 
often with men, who think that they are shaping a des- 
tiny which a higher hand than theirs is really fashioning. 
They do their own will, but they also do the will of God. 
A stronger hand guides them; a mightier power holds 
the helm of their vessel, and saves it from rock and 
wreck. Happy are they who quietly yield to the guid- 
ance of an Almighty Hand. 

"Thy Will be Done." 

"What sort of weather shall we have to-day?" said a 
traveller to an old shepherd. " Whatever weather I 
like," was the reply. " Whatever weather you like; why, 
how can that be?" ''Because it will be what God 
pleases, and what He pleases I like." 

{For other illustrations of " Our Father'' see Fourth Sunday 
in Lent ; for ''Hallowed, etc.'' see Third Sunday after 
Trinity.) 

As it is Done in Heaven." 

We are often indolent in doing God's will; we do it at 
best feebly and im.perfectly, and, worst of all, we often do 
it grudgingly. Oh! that we thought oftener of how it is 
"done in Heaven"! When that great writer, Richard 
Hooker, to whose calm wisdom the Church of England 
owes so much, lay on his death-bed in the rural parson- 
age of Bekesbourne, he was asked by his friend Saravia 
of what he was thinking? He replied, " I was medi- 
tating on the number and nature of angels, and their 



TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 245 



blessed obedience and order, without which peace could 
not be in Heaven; and, oh! that it might be so on earth! " 

Obedience of the Angels. 

A CLASS was once asked how the angels obeyed God. 
Different answers were given, but that seemed best of all 
which was given by a boy who said, They obey without 
asking any questions." 

Guardian Angels. 

I HAVE been told on good authority the following tale: 
- The little daughter of an eminent dignitary of the Eng- 
lish Church was walking with her mother in the city 
where they resided. The child, in crossing a street, ran 
over by herself; when, at the same moment, a carriage 
whirled around a sharp corner, and in an instant she was 
under the feet of the horses. Her mother, in an agony of 
terror, sprang forward to the place where she lay, expect- 
ing at the very least to find her most seriously injured. 
The child sprang up gaily, and said, Oh, mamma, I am 
not at all hurt, for something all in white kept the horses 
from treading upon me, and told me not to be afraid."— 
Dr. J. M. Neales Unseen World.'' 

Guardian Angels. 

A WIDOWER, with his two children, was on a visit at the 
house of a friend. The children were playing about (for 
it was an old-fashioned place) in its rambling passages, 
their father being ignorant that one opened on a deep and 
uncovered well, when, according to their own account, 
they were met by the figure of their deceased mother, 



246 FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



who made them return. If the apparition were indeed she 
whom it personated, it is a beautiful instance of the en- 
durance of earthly love beyond the grave: if it were their 
guardian angel, permitted to assume that shape, it is 
hardly a less striking lesson of the heed we should take 
" not to despise one of these little ones." — Dr. J. M. 
NeaWs " Unseen World." 

Example of the Angels. 

The Rev. John Newton once said, " If two angels were 
sent from Heaven, the one to be a prime minister, and to 
guide the destinies of an empire; and the other to be a 
watchman of a small street, each would feel equally con- 
tented, each would feel equally honoured in obeying the 
commandment of God, and each would be equally anx* 
ious to discharge his duties faithfully." 

"He shall Give His Angels Charge over thee.'' 

" How oft do they their silent bowers leave. 
To come to succour us who succour want! 

How oft do they with golden pinions cleave 
The flitting skies, like flying pursuivant, 
Against foul fiends to aid us militant! 

They for us fight, they watch and duly ward, 

And their bright squadrons round about us plant. 

And all for love, and nothing for reward — 

O why should Heavenly God to men have such re- 
gard? " — Spenser. 

Angels and Bootblacks. 

There was a rich man once who rose to great wealth 
and power from a very lowly place, A companion once 



TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 247 

said to him, with a sneer, I remember you when you 
used to black boots." " Yes," answered the other; and 
didn't I always black them zi^ellf " There is the point, 
to do what we have to do well. "As it is done in 
Heaven " by the angels. 



THIRTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER 
TRINITY. 



GIVE US, ETC., AND FORGIVE US, ETC. 

i^See also Twenty-second Sufiday after Trinity.) 

Confession of Wrongdoing. 

Few events in English history are more touching than a 
scene during the long contest between Edward the First 
and his Parliament. Edward stood face to face with his 
people in Westminster Hall, and with a sudden burst of 
tears owned himself frankly in the wrong. A weaker 
nature would have persisted in a course which he had 
once adopted, right or wrong. Edward showed himself 
a strong man by owning his error. 

" Forgive your Enemies." 

Once, after a great battle, an English officer, accom- 
panied by his orderly, was examining the wounded on 
the field. He came to one of the enemy who was badly 
hurt. " Give him a drink of water," said the officer. As 
he turned aside, the wounded m.an raised his rifle and 
fired at the officer, the bullet just missing him. Give 
him the water all the same," was the order of the brave 
man who knew how to forgive. 



THIRTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY, 249 



Strength to Forgive. 

A HEATHEN tyrant cnce caused a Christian to be cruelly 
beaten. x\s the man lay weak and helpless the tyrant 
asked him with a sneer what great thing Christ had ever 
done for him. " He has done this," answered the man; 
" He has given me strength to forgive you who have used 
me so hardly." 

For Christ's Sake. 

When Louis XH. came to the throne of France he 
caused a list to be made of those enemies who had plotted 
against him, and he placed a cross against their names. 
When this became known, his enemies fled in terror, 
believing ttiey were condemned to death. ' The king, 
however, sent for them, and gave them assurance of par- 
don, saying he had put a cross against their namxcs only 
to remind him of Jesus, who, on the cross, forgave His 
murderers, and prayed to His Father to forgive them. 

As we Forgive. 

There was once upon a time a Bishop of Alexandria in 
Egypt named John the Almsgiver. A nobleman came to 
see him one day, and the conversation turned on a griev- 
ance. So-and-so had wronged him cruelly; and never to 
his dying day could he forgive him. He spoke with 
warmth and anger; his face darkened with passion and 
his eye sparkled. Just at that moment, the bell tinkled 
for prayers in the Bishop's private chapel, and he rose 
and bade the noble follow him. S. John the Almsgiver 
knelt at the altar, and the nobleman knelt immediately 
behind him. Presently the Bishop began in a loud voice 
the Lord's Prayer, and the nobleman repeated each part 



250 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



with him. " Thy will be done on earth, as it is in 
Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread." The Bishop 
stopped abruptly. The nobleman, not thinking, went on 
alone: ''And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive 
them that trespass against us." Then, finding he was 
alone, stopped short also. The Bishop did not go on, but 
remained silently kneeling. Then suddenly the sense of 
the words of the petition he had made rushed on the 
nobleman's mind. The grace of God worked. He 
silently rose from his knees, went forth, and, finding the 
man who had offended him, frankly forgave him. 

Long-suffering. 

Bp. Jeremy Taylor concludes his Apology for Chris- 
tian toleration with an Eastern apologue. Abraham was 
sitting at his tent door, when an old man, stooping and 
leaning on his staft", appeared before him. Abraham in- 
vited him into his tent, set before him meat, and observ- 
ing that he did not invoke a blessing, asked him why he 
did not worship the God of Heaven. " I worship the fire 
only, and acknowledge no other god." Abraham be- 
came angry, and drove the old man out of his tent. Then 
God called to Abraham, and asked him where the stran- 
ger was. " I thrust him away, because he did not worship 
Thee! " God answered him, " I have suffered him these 
hundred years, though he dishonoured me, and wouldest 
thou not endure him one single night? " Upon which, 
saith the story, Abraham brought him back again, and 
gave him hospitable entertainment and wise instruction. 



FOURTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER 
TRINITY. 



LEAD US NOT, ETC. 

{Se^ also Septuagesi))ia Sunday.) 

Danger of Evil Company. 

A STORY is told of two parrots who lived near to each 
other. The one was accustomed to sing hymns, while 
the other was addicted to swearing. The owner of the 
latter obtained permission for it to associate with the for- 
mer in the hope that its bad habit would be corrected; 
but the opposite result followed, for both learned to swear 
alike. 

Temptation Everywhere. 

S. EuTHYMius THE Great (a.d. 473) oncc related this 
story to his monks: There was in Egypt a man afflicted 
with a very violent temper. So he ran away from his 
home into a monastery, where he thought he would be 
free from temptations to anger. But even there he was 
frequently irritated by the other monks, who uninten- 
tionally gave him annoyance. He therefore determined 
to escape entirely from the society of men, " for then," 
said he, " I cannot give way, for I shall never be tempt- 
ed." So he took with him only an earthen drinking- 
bowl, and hid himself in the desert. One day he was 



FOURTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINFTY. 253 



carrying water from the spring when he upset the bowl 
and spilled the water. He filled it again, and again his foot 
slipt and the water fell. Once more he filled it, and this 
time his hand shook and for the third time the water was 
spilled. Then in a furious passion he dashed the bowl 
against a stone, and shivered it to fragments. But when 
his anger cooled, he looked at his shattered bowl, and 
said, " O fool that I am! How can I escape the tempta- 
tion which is in my nature! If I have not men to be 
angry with, I rage against an earthen pot." 

Bad Examples. 

Some Brazilian hunters are reported to have captured a 
number of monkeys by having small boots made for 
them, which they filled with pitch. The hunters sat down 
in sight of the monkeys, and pulled of¥ and on their own 
boots; then retired, leaving the small ones. As soon as 
they were out of sight, the monkeys descended from the 
trees, and began doing as they had seen the hunters do. 
The hunters sprang upon them. The boots stuck to their 
feet, they could not climb, and were easily caught. Many 
young people are caught in the same way. 

Christ our Strength in Temptation. 

I HAVE read a story of a traveller, who saw a battle be- 
tween a poisonous spider and an insect that it had at- 
tacked. Every time this insect was bitten by the spider it 
settled on the leaves of a plant that grew near at hand, 
and sucked them; and as it sucked them it was healed, 
and came back to the battle as strong and as fresh as ever. 
But the traveller was cruel enough to take away the 
plant. The poor insect, when bitten, went as usual to 



254 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



look for it, and could not find it; and it presently died on 
the spot. So it is also with us; when we are wounded 
by Satan, when we have unholy thoughts put into our 
minds, when we have said unholy words, or done unholy 
deeds, we must go at once to our Lord to heal us. If we 
delay, we may be prevented from doing so at all. 

" Lead us not." 

It is useless to pray to God not to lead us into tempta- 
tion if we do not keep away from it ourselves. A mer- 
chant of Brussels obtained permission to enter the head- 
quarters of the British army while the battle of Waterloo 
was going on. Being granted an interview with Welling- 
ton he expostulated with him on the great danger to 
which he was exposing himself in the position in which 
he stood. The great Duke's answer was, " You, sir, 
have no business here, but I am here at the call of duty." 

Keep away from Temptation. 

You read in the fairy tale about the awful Loadstone 
Mountain, which draws ships irresistibly to its side out 
of their course, and when they come nearer, it pulls out 
all the iron nails that hold the timbers together, and they 
fall to pieces, overwhelming every soul in the tempestu- 
ous sea. And so temptation, while it draws you to its 
rock-bound shore, takes away your good resolutions, de- 
prives you of your energy of will, and leaves you to yield 
at last without an efifort to its fatal hold of you, and all is 
lost. 

Guidance Needed amid Temptation. 

About eighty miles to the eastward of the coast of Nova 
Scotia, there is a bow-shaped island of sand, which lies so 



FOURTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 255 



low that the mariner does not see it until he is upon it, 
and a bar extending away for thirty-two miles beyond it, 
which is so shallow that some parts of it are dry in cer- 
tain states of the tide. Around this scarcely visible isl- 
and, and over this shallow bar, the sea even in fine weath- 
er breaks heavily, and in a storm it seems as if the 
whole force of the ocean were hurled against it. It lies 
directly in the path of ships going to and fro, and is sur- 
rounded by eddies and erratic currents, and for weeks at 
a time it is shrouded with dense mists. It is the most 
fatal spot in the great world of waters, dreaded by every 
sailor as the graveyard of the Atlantic, and for many 
years it has lured countless ships to their doom. Now 
life has dangers as low-lying and unsuspected as this long 
line of foaming breakers — places where powerful cur- 
rents of temptation meet, in the common pathways of 
everyday life. They do not reveal their true character 
until you are drawn close to them; and it needs constant 
watchfulness and prayer to escape making shipweck upon 
them. 



FIFTEENTH, SIXTEENTH, SEVEN- 
TEENTH, AND EIGHTEENTH 
SUNDAYS AFTER TRINITY. 

THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH. 

The Persecution by Nero. 

There are commonly reckoned ten general persecutions 
of Christians by the heathen power of the Roman govern- 
ment. The first was under the Emperor Nero about the 
year 66, the last under -Diocletian in 303. The Roman 
historian Tacitus tells us about the first of these. After 
describing a terrible fire in Rome, he says: " To suppress 
the common rumour, that he had himself set fire to the 
city, Nero procured others to be accused, and inflicted 
exquisite punishments upon those people who were held 
in abhorrence for their crimes, and were commonly 
known by the name of Christians. They had their de- 
nomination from Christus, who, in the reign of Tiberius, 
was put to death as a criminal by the procurator Pon- 
tius Pilate. This pernicious superstition, though 
checked for a while, broke out again, and spread 
not only over Judea, the source of this evil, but 
reached the city also, whither flow from all quarters 
all things vile and shameful, and where they find 
shelter and encouragement. At first those only were 
17 



258 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



apprehended who confessed themselves of that sect; 
afterwards a vast multitude was discovered by them, all 
of whom were condemned, not so much for the crime of 
burning the city, as for their enmity to mankind. Their 
executions were so contrived as to expose them to deri- 
sion and contempt. Some were covered over with the 
skins of wild beasts, and torn to pieces by dogs; some 
were crucified, and others having been daubed over with 
combustible materials, were set up as lights in the night 
time, and thus burnt to death. Nero made use of his own 
gardens as the theatre upon this occasion, and also ex- 
hibited the diversions of the Circus, sometimes standing 
in the crowd as a spectator, in the habit of a charioteer, 
at others driving a chariot himself, till at length these 
men, though really criminal and deserving exemplary 
punishment, began to be commiserated, as people who 
were destroyed, not out of regard to the public welfare, 
but only to gratify the cruelty of one man." This ac- 
count was written about thirty-six years after the perse- 
cution which it so vividly describes. It was in the midst 
of this awful scene that S. Peter and S. Paul are believed 
to have suffered. 

The Martyrdom of S. Peter and S. Paul. 

vS. Peter and S. Paul were both in the city of Rome in 
the year 67. Nero was still persecuting the Church, arid 
the Christians persuaded S. Peter that his life was of such 
value that he ought to withdraw for a little while from 
danger. The Apostle yielded, and soon found an oppor- 
tunity of escaping from Rome by night. But it was the 
will of his heavenly Master that he should now fulfil the 
promise which he dared not fulfil when he made it, I 
will lay down my life for Thy sake" (S. John xiii. 37); 



ISTH TO 18TH SUNDAYS AFTER TRINITY. 259 



and so, scarcely had he got beyond the walls, when, in a 
vision (it is said) he beheld the Saviour coming to meet 
him, and he perceived that He was carrying a cross. 
"Lord, whither goest Thou?" (Quo vadis?) asked 
the Apostle, to which the Lord answered, that He 
was going into the city to be crucified. S. Peter 
took this as a rebuke to himself for going away, 
and as a token that he was to suffer for Christ, and 
upon this he returned to the city, where he and 
S. Paul were soon afterwards apprehended, as leaders 
of the Christians, and put into prison. Soon after- 
wards S. Paul was beheaded, for he was a Roman citizen 
by birth, and he had a right to be executed in this 
way. S, Peter, not being a Roman citizen, was con- 
demned to be crucified; but feeling that he was not 
worthy to die the same death as his Lord, he begged that 
he might be fastened to the cross with his head down- 
wards. This request was granted, and thus on the 29th 
of June (which day is still kept in memory of the event), 
the two Apostles finished their testimony, and were to- 
gether " witnesses of the Resurrection " by daring to die. 

The Letter of Pliny about the Christians. 

The third general persecution took place under the Em- 
peror Trajan in the year no. Pliny the younger, a hu- 
mane and accomplished Roman, was governor of Pontus 
and Bithynia for about eighteen months, during this per- 
secution; and on that subject he addressed to the Em- 
peror his celebrated letter. After mentioning his per- 
plexity in what manner to proceed against men charo-ed 
with no other crime than the name of Christian, Pliny 
proceeds as follows; " Others were named by an inform- 
er, who at first confessed themselves Christians, and 



26o 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



afterwards denied it; the rest said they had been Chris- 
tians, but had left them, some three years ago, some 
longer, and one or more above twenty years. They all 
worshipped your image, and the statues of the gods; 
these also reviled Christ. They affirmed that the whole 
of their fault or error lay in this — that they were wont to 
meet together on a stated day before it was light, and 
sing among themselves alternately a hymn to Christ, as 
to God, and bind themselves by an oath, not to the com- 
mission of any wickedness, but not to be guilty of theft, 
or robbery, or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor 
to deny a pledge committed to them when called upon to 
return it. When these things were performed, it was 
their custom to separate, and then to come together 
again to a meal, which they ate in common without any 
disorder." 

The Destruction of Jerusalem. 

Just before the Roman armies under Vespasian and 
Titus came to the city to besiege it in a.d. 66, the Chris- 
tians, being warned in various ways by God, left it in a 
body. They remembered our Lord's words, " Let them 
that be in Judea flee to the mountains " ; and, therefore, 
under the guidance of their Bishop Simeon, they de- 
parted to a little city called Pella, on the eastern side of 
the Jordan. Then, just as when Lot had entered into 
Zoar (Gen. xix. 23), the fire and brimstone fell upon the 
cities of the plain; so now, as soon as the Christians were 
removed from the danger, God's wrath cam,e upon Jeru- 
salem. For the Roman armies came back and surround- 
ed the city, and there was no longer any means of bring- 
ing in food, and soon a famine began to be felt; and this 
brought fresh troubles, for many of those who were dying 



ISTH TO 18TH SUNDAYS AFTER TRINITY. 261 

of want, formed themselves into parties, and went about 
the city as robbers, to take food by force, wherever it was 
to be found. And as the famine increased, these robbers 
became more desperate. It is related by a writer named 
Josephus, who lived at that time, that wherever they saw 
a door fastened, which was a sign that those within were 
taking food, they would burst into the house, and almost 
choke them, forcing the morsels from their very mouths. 
The same writer tells us that in one case, a woman was 
driven to such despair by hunger (having been robbed of 
all the food she had), that she killed her child, and roasted 
it; and after eating a part herself, she put the rest by, and 
when the robbers cam.e to seek for more food, she of- 
fered it to them, at which even they were shocked, and 
went away trembling. It is said that during this terrible 
war a million Jews perished. They held out against the 
Romans for nearly six years, but they could not stand 
against the vengeance of God, who was now bringing 
upon them the judgments which our Lord Jesus Christ 
had foretold, and thus in 72 a.d. the city was taken and 
destroyed, and the Temple was burned to the ground. 
Thus our Lord's prophecy was fulfilled, that of that 
goodly building not one stone should be left upon 
another. (S. Luke xxi. 5.) 

S. John and the Robber. 

Ox one occasion S. John had intrusted a young Chris- 
tian to the care of a certain Bishop not far from Ephesus. 
The young man fell into bad habits, and at last became 
the leader of a band of robbers. When S. John heard of 
it, he smote his head, rent his clothes, and having strong- 
ly rebuked the carelessness of the shepherd, went himself 
among the robbers in quest of the lost sheep. His loving 



262 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES, 



zeal was wonderfully rewarded. He was able to show the 
young man the evil of his ways, and brought him back a 
penitent, and restored him to the Church. 

S. John and the Heretic Cerinthus. 

In the latter part of S. John's life, after he was released 
from his banishment in the Isle of Patmos, he resided in 
Ephesus. Here he presided over the Churches of all that 
region as a kind of Archbishop. Two stories are told of 
him at this time. One is that as he was about to enter a 
public bath he saw a man named Cerinthus, who publicly 
taught that Christ was not true God. When S. John saw 
him he fled away in horror from the house, saying that he 
feared the roof might fall on him if he were there with 
such a man. 

The Death of S. John. 

S. John had outlived all the other Apostles, and was 
waiting till he should be called to drink of his Master's 
cup, and be baptised with His Baptism (S. Matt. xx. 20), 
and now it seemed that his time was come at last; for 
during the persecution of Domitian he was apprehended, 
and sent to Rome; where he was condemned to die, and 
ordered to be thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil in 
front of one of the gates of Rome, called Porta Latina. 
But God's ways are not as our ways, and our Lord has 
appointed dif¥erent means for His servants to drink of 
His cup and to be baptised with His Baptism. One of the 
brothers, S. James, was called first of all the Apostles to 
die as a martyr, and S. John, the other brother, was not 
to die as a martyr at all; for when he was put into the 
boiling oil, God's almighty power preserved him, and he 



ISTH TO j8TH SUNDAYS AFTER TRINITY. 263 



came out unharmed. (This miracle is commemorated in 
the calendar on the sixth of May.) Finding themselves 
unable to kill him, and thinking that the x\postle was 
protected by some magical power, his persecutors had 
him banished to Patmos, a little barren island in the 
Archipelago, where he remained till Nerva was made 
Emperor, when he returned to Ephesus, and there ended 
his days. After writing the Book of the Revelation and 
his Gospel, together with two other Epistles, he died a 
natural death in a.d. 98. 

S. Ignatius, the Martyr Bishop. 

S. Ignatius was a disciple of the Apostle" S. John. He 
is said to have been the child our Lord set before the 
Apostles as an example of humility. In the year 68 he 
was consecrated to be the Bishop of the great see of An- 
tioch in Syria. Some years later the Emperor Trajan was 
persecuting the Christians, and as he was passing 
through Antioch, the good Bishop was brought before 
him. Sentence of death was soon afterwards pronounced 
against him, and he was commanded to be taken to 
Rome by a military guard, and there thrown to the wild 
beasts in the Colosseum as a spectacle for the people. In 
order to strike terror into the hearts of the Christians, he 
was to be taken to Rome by the longest way, but S. Ig- 
natius was so courageous and went so joyfully that every- 
where believers were encouraged instead of terrified, and 
his journey was like a triumphal march. At length 
Rome was reached and S. Ignatius was thrown to the 
lions on December 20, 107, during one of the great 
heathen holidays, when the w^hole city flocked to see the 
sight. 



264 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



The Letters of S. Ignatius. 

While S. Ignatius was on his journey to Rome to be 
thrown to the lions there, he wrote seven letters to the 
Churches under his care. By these letters we learn very 
distinctly that the sacred ministry, as Christ ordained it, 
consisted of three orders, as we have it to-day, namely. 
Bishops, Priests, and Deacons. " Apart from these," he 
says, there is no Church." Another of his great sayings 
was, " Let nothing be done without the Bishops." And 
this is the teaching of one who was trained by S. John, 
and who must therefore have known the mind of Christ. 
If Episcopacy, or the government of the Church by Bish- 
ops, was the universal rule at this time (as it evidently 
was), it is simply impossible that, during the lifetime of 
one single generation, this rule could be any different 
from that which Christ Himself laid down for His 
Church. 

The Martyrdom of S. Polycarp. 

S. Polycarp was the Bishop of Smyrna. He, like S. 
Ignatius, had been taught by S. John, and one of Poly- 
carp's own pupils tells us that he often heard him 
" speak of the conversations he had held with John and 
with others who had seen the Lord." In the year 155 
the Christians were being persecuted by the heathen in 
Smyrna, and nothing would satisfy the brutal mob but 
the life of the aged Bishop. Yielding to the advice of his 
friends the saintly man withdrew awhile to a retired coun- 
try seat near the city, but he soon had to seek refuge 
elsewhere. Here his enemies found him and brought 
him before the Roman governor, who asked him to curse 
Christ. He mildly answered, " Four-score and six years 



/J 777 TO 18TH SUNDAYS AFTER TRINITY. 265 



have I served Him, and He hath done me no iU. How 
then can I curse my King and Saviour? " Then he was 
condemned to be burnt to death, but this had no terrors 
for him, and he calmly gave up his life for Christ in the 
presence of many of his devoted flock, who reverently 
gathered up his ashes, and buried them. 

Martyrs in France. 

About the year 170 a great persecution broke out in 
Gaul, or, as we now call it, France. Pothinus, the Bishop 
of Lyons, although he was already ninety years of age, 
was put to death. Sanctus, a deacon, stood like an anvil 
under the strokes of his tormentors, and like an anvil 
responded by a single ringing note. Christianus sum " 
(I am a Christian) was all he had to say of his name, city, 
race, and profession. Christianus sum " he kept on re- 
peating till his body, we are told, was a mass of sores and 
cinders, mangled and shrivelled, with hardly a vestige 
left of human shape. Blandina, a female slave of Vienne, 
was another of " the noble army of martyrs." Every de- 
vice of cruelty was exhausted on her and her brother, a 
lad of fifteen, to make them give up their religion. To 
frighten her still further she was for several days forced 
to behold the sufferings of other martyrs. At last, after 
being scourged, she was enclosed in a net and thrown to 
an infuriated bull, which tossed and gored her till she 
died, constant to the end. 

The Church in the Catacombs. 



The Catacombs in Rome were chambers and passages 
underground where the Christians were accustomed to 
bury their dead and also to worship in secret. They were 



^66 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



cemeteries and churches in one. The ground in many 
places on the outskirts of Rome consists of a kind of 
" tufa " or volcanic rock, easy to excavate and to remove. 
In this soft material caverns and passages were hewn by 
the Christians. These continue to this day, and they are 
- so numerous that the length of them, if all spread out in 
a line, would exceed 350 miles, equal to the length of 
Italy itself. These were begun probably by Christians 
who were the owners of private estates. At first there 
were only a few chambers to supply burial places for their 
own family, and their slaves and dependents. But as 
time went on these were enlarged and extended, and con- 
nected with other excavations in the neighbourhood. 
The passages were usually eight to ten feet high, and 
from four to six feet wide. Along their sides were cavi- 
ties like shelves in a bookcase. Here the dead body of 
the Christian was laid and the opening was closed up 
with a slab of stone. These slabs were often adorned 
with rude carvings of Christian symbols, such as the 
palm-branch, the anchor, the dove, and the cross, besides 
an inscription giving the name and age of each. Many 
of these are very short and simple, such as Victorina 
sleeps," Gemella sleeps in peace/' Lannus, the martyr 
of Christ, rests here." These catacombs were used in 
this way even after persecution was over, or until the be- 
ginning of the fifth century. Though used first only as 
burying places, the places where the passages cross each 
other v/ere afterwards enlarged into a kind of cell, large 
enough for a band of worshippers to meet in. Then the 
walls were adorned with paintings, and altars v/ere built 
at which the Holy Communion was celebrated, especially 
on the days when the death or martyrdom of their friends 
was commemorated. The traditional use of lighted can- 



ISTH TO 18TH SUNDAYS AFTER TRINITY. 267 



dies in daylight at celebrations of the Holy Eucharist is 
said to owe its origin to these services in the dark Cata- 
combs. 

S. Cyprian, the Martyr Bishop of Carthage. 

S. Cyprian was a man of great ability and eloquence. 
While Bishop of Carthage he opposed Stephen, Bishop 
of Rome, in his assertion of supremacy as the Bishop of 
an Apostolical See to decide a question in regard to the 
baptism of heretics. He was put to death in the persecu- 
tion of the Emperor Valerian in 258. He was brought 
before the proconsul and questioned in the presence of 
an immense crowd, mostly his ow^n flock. Art thou 
Cyprian? " I am." Art thou an ofificial in a sacrileg- 
ious sect?" ''I am." "Wilt thou sacrifice?" No." 
" Consider it well." I have done so. Execute the law 
as is your duty. It is not necessary to reflect longer." 
The proconsul acted with great reluctance, but the case 
was clear, and he pronounced judgment that he should 
be beheaded. The Bishop said heartily, Thanks be to 
God," threw of¥ his episcopal robe, knelt, and prayed. In 
a moment the sword came down on his neck, and one of 
the greatest of the fathers of the Church was with his 
Lord. 

S. Lawrence, the Deacon. 

Very noble and touching is the history of S. Lawrence, 
the Archdeacon, or chief Deacon, at Rome, in the days of 
persecution. It was in the year 258 that Lawrence saw 
his Bishop, Xystus, led to martyrdom. " Whither go you, 
Father," he exclaimed, 'Svithoiit your son? Whither, 
holy Priest, do you hasten without your Deacon? You 
were never wont to ofifer the Sacrifice without a Deacon. 
Make trial at least whether you have chosen a fit Deacon, 



268 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



to entrust with the consecrated Blood of the Lord," 
Xystus is reported to have rephed, " I forsake you not, 
my son, but a greater combat is reserved for you. We, 
Hke old men, undertake a light skirmish; you, as a 
young man, a more glorious triumph awaits! Weep not, 
you will follow me! " The persecutors demanded from 
Lawrence, " where the treasures of the Church were." 
He promised to show them on the morrow, and when the 
day came, he brought before them a crowd of poor and 
afflicted persons, and displaying them, announced, 
" These are the treasures of the Church! " The enraged 
and disappointed enemies of the Faith put Lawrence to 
a cruel death by fire. He Vv^as slowly broiled to death on 
a heated iron grate or gridiron. The palace and monas- 
tery of the Escurial in Spain, built in the sixteenth cen- 
tury to the memory of S. Lawrence, is one of the most 
magnificent memorials a martyr ever had. It is built in 
the shape of a gridiron, upside down, towers representing 
the feet. 

The Conversion of Constantine. 

All the chief rulers of the Roman Empire before Con- 
stantine, lived and died as pagans or heathen. Constan- 
tius, the father of Constantine, died at York in England 
in 306, and his son was at once proclaimed by the army 
in that city emperor in his stead. Thougk inclined to 
favour the Christians he did not openly announce his be- 
lief in Christ until six years later, when he was marching 
against the tyrant Maxentius. The story, as told by 
Constantine himself, is as follows: As the emperor was 
marching towards Rom.e, at the head of his army, he 
beheld a luminous cross, suspended about noonday in the 
air, and inscribed with the following words — En Touto 



/J 77/ TO 18TH SUNDAYS AFTER TRINITY. 269 



Nika — By tJiis conquer.'' The phenomenon confirmed 
his uncertain faith, and afforded him the surest omen 
of victory. But this was not all : during the ensuing night 
the form of Christ Himself presented Itself with the same 
cross, and directed him to frame a standard after that 
shape. And it is certain that, about that period, and pos- 
sibly on that occasion, a standard was so framed, and con- 
tinued for many following years to be displayed, when- 
ever it became necessary to excite the enthusiasm of the 
Christian soldiers. 

Arius, the Arch-heretic. 

The greatest danger that the Church ever endured from 
heresy or false teaching came from a priest named Arius. 
Arius was rector of a parish in Alexandria when the aged 
Bishop Alexander was ruling over that See. It was in 
the year 319 that he first began publicly to teach that our 
Lord was not truly God. He acknowledged that He was 
God now, but he declared that there was a time when 
once He was not God. But, of course, if Christ had not 
been always God He could not be truly God. He must 
be an inferior God, and so there must be two Gods, not 
one. Arius was clever and had a very winning way with 
him, though he is described as gaunt and thin, with a 
look of melancholy in his face. He was very energetic 
and did everything he could, even to writing songs for 
mechanics and millers, and other workmen, in order to 
make his false teaching popular with all classes. And 
Arius was for a long time successful, though he was, of 
course, deprived of his parish, and put out of the Church. 
He had a great many followers, especially among rich 
and fashionable and worldly people, who were pleased by 
his doctrine and his manner, and did not think to ask if 



270 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES, 



it were true. At last the heresy of Arius made so much 
trouble in the Church that the Emperor Constantine 
called a council of all the bishops of the world together 
in the year 325 to consider the matter. This council met 
in Nic^a, or Nice, in Asia Minor, near to the Emperor's 
palace, and it was there decided that Arius was altogether 
wrong. But Arius did not cease his efforts after this con- 
demnation. By his adroit manner he succeeded in 
making friends for himself among the powerful, and by 
his declarations deceived even Constantine himself. It 
was in the year 336 that Constantine ordered the Bishop 
of Constantinople to receive him to the Holy Commu- 
nion, but on the very day before the Sunday when he was 
to go to the church for this purpose, he died. He was 
led in triumph by his friends through the principal 
streets of Constantinople and seemed to be in excellent 
health and spirits. But when the procession came near 
the great pillar in Constantine Square, Arius became ill, 
and was forced to go into a house. Shortly afterward it 
was discovered that he had fallen headlong, a rupture 
had taken place with a great flow of blood, and he was 
dead. 

Athanasius, the Defender of the Faith. 

God always raises up the right man in the crisis of His 
Church's history; thus, to meet the subtle arguments of 
Arius, who denied that our Lord was truly God, the 
great theologian Athanasius appeared on the scene. Of 
Athanasius, we read that when only a child he attracted 
notice by playing at being a bishop in games with other 
children. When only a deacon, he accompanied his 
Bishop to the Council of Nice, and showed the greatest 
zeal and the most brilliant eloquence in defending the Di- 



ISTH TO 18TH SUNDAYS AFTER TRINITY. 271 

vine position of his Saviour. Forty-six years was he 
Bishop of Alexandria, during which time he was thrice 
banished. Often he was exposed to the greatest danger 
by the mahce of powerful enemies. They on one occasion 
accused him of the murder of a certain Bishop, who had 
disappeared. The accusation was made in the public 
courts, and Athanasius charged with the crime, but he 
overwhelmed his accusers with ridicule by calling a muf- 
fled figure into court. Bidding him remove the mufflings, 
he asked: "Is this Arsenius whom I murdered?" All 
recognized the man at once as the missing Bishop, who 
had only sought refuge for a tim..e in some secret place. 
For years Athanasius remained concealed in a dry cistern, 
his wants supplied by faithful friends, but after years of 
persecution and trial, of anxiety and struggles and won- 
derful escapes, he died in peace at Alexandria, and his 
name is honoured as one of the great pillars of the 
Church, and his work is seen in that " Gloria " which is 
continually chanted in our services. 

The Council of Nice. 

When the errors of Arius began to trouble the Church 
the Emperor Constantine called a Synod, or Council of 
Bishops, from all parts of the world to discuss and settle 
this question. The Council met in Nice, or Nicsea, in 
Asia Minor, a little city near to Nicomedia, where was 
the Emperor's palace. The bishops, with their chaplains 
or attending priests, began to assemble in the spring of 
325, their expenses being paid out of the imperial treas- 
ury. About the middle of June the sessions began, and 
Constantine himself was present. There were other im- 
portant questions to be settled by this Council, such as 
the proper day when Easter should fall, so that all Chris- 



272 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



tians might keep the anniversary of their Lord's resur- 
rection together. But the great question of all was as to 
whether Arius was right or wrong when he taught that 
Jesus was not truly God. Holy Scripture and the univer- 
sal belief of the Church from the beginning were ap- 
pealed to against Arius. The teaching of Arius was new. 
It had not been heard of before in the Church. " Who 
ever heard such doctrine? " the young Deacon Athana- 
sius, from Alexandria, demanded. " Whence? from 
whom did they gain it? Who thus expounded to them 
when they were at school? " This, and not subtle argu- 
mentation, was the simple test by which the Council 
tried the teaching of Arius. The only true teaching could 
be that which was old, which had been " from the begin- 
ning " (t S. John i. i), which the Church had received 
from Christ Himself and His Apostles. But that had al- 
ways declared that Christ was the true God, one with 
the Father and the Holy Ghost. The new teaching must, 
therefore, be false, and so Arius was condemned, and the 
Creed, which we call the Nicene, and which declares that 
Christ is very " or true " God of very God," was 
adopted, and has ever since remained the standard of the 
Church's faith ever3^where throughout the world. It is 
said that it was at this time the custom arose of bowing 
reverently at the Name of Jesus in the Creed and else- 
where. 

The Fall of Pope Liberius. 

Ltberius was Bishop of Rome at the time when the 
errors of Arius were making such headway, especially 
among the great and rich. Liberius had said of A^thana- 
sius that " If he was the only friend Athanasius had, he 
would adhere to the righteous cause." The Christians 



ISTH TO 18TH SUNDAYS AFTER TRLMTY. 273 



in Rome remained true, and their Bishop even allowed 
himself to be banished into distant Thrace rather than 
sign an Arian Creed. But after two years of cold and suf- 
fering in exile his courage failed him, and he consented 
to sign a false creed, and was restored to his see. In 
this fall of Liberius we find an unanswerable argument 
against the modern theory of what is called " Papal In- 
fallibility " — that is, that no Bishops of Rome can err. 
One heretic is not much amongst so many Popes, but 
the snapping of one link will break the strongest chain. 

S. Ambrose and the Emperor. 

S. Ambrose was only a learned and dignified layman 
when a vacancy occurred in the Bishopric of Milan. The 
great church w^as crow^ded on the day for choosing a new 
Bishop, when suddenly a little child called out, " Let 
Ambrose be Bishop! The people took it as a warning 
from Heaven, and Ambrose was chosen and ordained to 
his high ofhce. One of the noblest things that Ambrose 
did was his rebuke of the Emperor. Theodosius, though 
a Christian, had, in a fit of passion, given orders for the 
punishment of the people of Thessalonica, who had mur- 
dered in a riot some of the imperial officers. The result 
of these orders was that 7,000 innocent men, women, and 
children were slaughtered. Ambrose, full of horror at 
the news, forbade the Emperor to enter the cathedral. 
Theodosius was convinced of his sin, and after spend- 
ing eight months in seclusion and humiliation he pub- 
licly confessed his fault, issued a law to prevent any such 
effects of royal passion for the future, and was at last as 
a penitent received by Ambrose within the sacred walls. 
S. Ambrose died in 397. 
18 



274 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES, 



S. Chrysostom. 

John Chrysostom, which means John the Golden 
Mouthed, was Archbishop, or Patriarch, of Constantino- 
ple. The prayer in Matins and Evensong called by 
his name was either composed by him or taken from 
the liturgy called after him. Chrysostom was the 
son of an officer in the army, and was born in 346. 
His mother was a devout Christian, and her son was 
carefully educated. He was intended for the law, 
but soon decided to become a priest. In the chief 
church of his native city, Antioch, Chrysostom won 
for himself a great reputation as a bold and brilliant 
preacher. All classes of society — ^Jews, heathen, heretics 
— crowded to his sermons. In 398 Chrysostom was 
chosen by the Emperor to be Bishop of the imperial city, 
Constantinople, and here he showed so much self-denial 
and bestowed so much of his income on hospitals and 
other charities that he gained the further surname of 
John the Almoner." He sent out missionaries, also, 
into Scythia, Persia, and other lands. But the court of 
Constantinople, with the Empress at its head, was thor- 
oughly worldly and vicious, in fact only Christian in 
name. Chrysostom, from his pulpit in the great 
church of S. Sophia (now a Mohammedan mosque), 
did not hesitate to rebuke vice in every quarter and in 
the most fearless termis. As a result the powers of the 
state were brought to bear upon him, and he was twice 
banished. The second time he was sent to the little town 
of Cucusus, in the desert parts of the Taurus Mountains, 
but even here he laboured earnestlv for the conversion of 
the Persians and Goths in the neighbourhood. The Em- 
peror was enraged at the sympathy shown him by all true 



ISTH TO 18TH SUNDAYS AFTER TRINITY. 275 



Christians, and gave orders that he should be banished 
to a still more desolate place on the Black Sea. Accord- 
ingly the old man was made to travel on foot, and with 
his bare head exposed to a burning sun. This cruelty 
proved fatal, as it was meant it should. After being car- 
ried back to Comanum, he was taken into the church in 
a state of exhaustion. There he received the Holy Com- 
munion, clad in white vestments, and with the words. 
Glory be to God for all things, Amen," his spirit 
passed away to Paradise, on September 14, 407. One 
of his great sayings is worth remembering: " None can 
hurt the man who will not hurt himself." 

S. Jerome, the Translator of the Bible. 

S. Jerome was born in Dalmatia about the year 340. 
His parents were both Christians. After being taught 
by his father at home, Jerome went to Rome to study 
Greek, rhetoric, and philosophy under a famous teacher. 
In 379 he was ordained a priest at Antioch, after spend- 
ing several years in solitude and severe study, especially 
of Hebrew. Returning to Rome, he gained the friend- 
ship of a rich lady, Paula, and her daughter. These and 
other ladies followed him to the Holy Land, whither he 
went in 384. Here he fixed his residence in Bethlehem, 
where Paula founded four convents, three for nuns and 
one for monks. The latter was governed by Jerome him- 
self. It was here that Jerome wrote his commentaries 
cn the Bible, and made the great translation into Latin 
of the whole Bible, known as the A^ulgate. It would, per- 
haps, be more correct to say, hov/ever, that Jerome re- 
vised and corrected the older Latin translation, known 
as the Itala, rather than made a new translation. By slow 
degrees this version of the Bible took the place of the 



2/6 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



older one. At first it naturally met with much opposition 
from those who had been accustomed to the older ver- 
sion. But it was so free from the errors that had crept 
into the old, and so much more beautiful and exact a 
translation, that it became at last the use of all the Latin- 
speaking churches. S. Jerome was very quick tempered, 
but he was a most devout and devoted Christian, and the 
most eloquent and learned of all the Latin fathers. He 
died at Bethlehem, September 30, 420. 

S. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo. 

S. Augustine was born in Thagaste, in North Africa, 
in the year 354. His mother, Monica, was a devout 
Christian, but his father was at first a heathen. So Au- 
gustine grew up, in spite of his mother's good teaching, 
in heretical ways, and for a time led a dissolute life. 
When he was twenty-eight he went to Rome as a teacher 
of rhetoric, and from there to Milan, where he was accus- 
tomed to go and hear S. Ambrose preach at the Cathe- 
dral. This was the beginning of his conversion. At last, 
one day, he himself tells us, as he was sitting in the garden 
of his house and thinking over his evil life, he heard a 
voice saying to him, ''Take up and read; take up and 
read!" Then taking up the copy of S. Paul's Epistles, 
which he had laid down, he read the passage that lay 
open, and it was this : " Not in rioting and drunkenness, 
not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and en- 
vying; but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make 
not provision for the flesh " (Rom. xiii. 13, 14). From 
that moment he determined to be a Christian, and at once 
he went into the house and told his mother of the good 
desire that had sprung up in his heart. He tells us, too, 
how glad she was that her hopes had been fulfilled. For 



7 J 77/ TO 18TH SUNDAYS AFTER TRINITY. 277 

once she had gone to her bishop to speak to him of her 
troubles, caused by his evil life, and he had comforted 
her by telling her that " it was not possible that the son 
of those tears should perish." Soon afterwards Augustine 
was baptised by S. x\mbrose, and later on he was made 
the Bishop of Hippo, in his native Africa, and became 
one of the greatest teachers and preachers that the 
Church has ever had. He died August 28, 430, while the 
Vandals under Genseric wxre besieging his see city. 

Rise of the Power of the Bishop of Rome. 

It was very natural that the bishop of the greatest city in 
the world, the centre of its government, should gradu- 
ally gain an official authority which was not possessed 
by the bishops of lesser cities. But w^hen the emperors 
in the fourth century made Constantinople, or New 
Rome, the seat of empire, and forsook old Rome, the im- 
portance of the bishop of old Rome became very much 
increased. Now he w^as the greatest man in the city. But 
it took a long time for the false claims of the Popes, as 
they came to be called, to grow up. Even as late as the 
sixth century Pope Gregory the Great denounced with 
holy horror the attempt of the Bishop of Constantinople 
to call himself " Universal Bishop," and he declared that 
any bishop who should make such a claim was " Anti- 
christ." 

Conversion of the Russians. 

The greatest missionary success of the Eastern Church 
was the conversion of the vast country which we now 
call Russia to the faith of Christ. A'ladimir, King of the 
Slavs, or Russians, came to the throne in 972, but it was 
not until 988 that he became a Christian. His way of 



278 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



arriving at conversion and matrimony at the same time 
was characteristic of those rough times. He first made 
an attack upon the Eastern empire, and then sent an em- 
bassy to Constantinople promising peace and conversion 
in exchange for the hand in marriage of Anna, the Em- 
peror's sister! His demands were gladly complied with, 
and after his marriage and baptism, at Kherson, he re- 
turned to Kiev, destroyed all the idols, and commanded 
his subjects to be baptised. It could hardly have been 
expected that a conversion managed in this way could 
have made much change in such a violent prince as 
Vladimir. Yet, strange to say, from 988 he appears to 
have undergone a thorough transformation. Churches 
were built and schools established by him, and he person- 
ally became so pure and gentle and charitable that the 
name of " Saint " was bestowed upon him. 

The Church Service and the Russian Ambassadors. 

When the ambassadors of King Vladimir came to Con- 
stantinople they were deeply impressed with what they 
saw there in the Church. This is what they said on their 
return: "When we stood in the temple [the great 
church of San Sophia] we did not know where we were, 
for there is nothing else like it on earth. There, in truth, 
God has His dwelling with men, and we can never forget 
the beauty we saw there. No one who has once tasted 
sweets will afterwards taste that which is bitter. We can 
no longer abide in heathenism." 



King Olaf and the Norsemen. 

Up to the tenth century the dwellers in Norway were 
heathens. The people were rough and warHke, and some 



ISTH TO 18TH SUNDAYS AFTER TRINITY. 279 



who sailed the seas as pirates carried terror and desola- 
tion wherever they went, so that the Litanies of those 
days contained this petition: From the fury of the 
Northmen, Good Lord, deliver us." Long and sore was 
the struggle of missionaries with these people, who clung 
to their heathen worship of Thor and Woden. At length 
King Olaf, who had been a Viking, or pirate adventurer, 
in his youth, but had been baptised a Christian, and con- 
firmed at Winchester, betook himself home to Norway, 
and was chosen king, about 996. At a great assembly of 
the people, Olaf, with his followers, entered the temple 
of Thor whilst the sacrifice was being offered, and sud- 
denly hurled the image of the deity from its place with 
his battleaxe. When the people heard of the downfall of 
Thor's image they lost all faith in the power of their false 
god. Then they yielded to the stern teaching of Olaf, 
and were baptised in great numbers. His splendid per- 
sonal appearance, his wonderful strength and skill in 
arms, his inexhaustible courage and energy, and frank, 
chivalrous nature, seem to have overawed and attracted 
every one of his time, and have made him since the fa- 
vourite hero of Norse history. 



NINETEENTH SUNDAY AFTER 
TRINITY. 



THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH IN 
ENGLAND. 

The First British Martyr. 

The first martyr of the Church in Britain was a Roman 
soldier of noble birth named Alban, a native of Verulam, 
now S. Albans. At the commencement of the general 
persecution of Christians ordered by the Emperor Dio- 
cletian, in the year 303, Alban gave shelter to Amphi- 
balus, a Christian priest, who was flying from the Roman 
officers. Some time later Alban facilitated the priest's 
escape by exchanging clothes with him. Before Amphi- 
balus bade farewell to his preserver, Alban had received 
such instruction in the truth:- of Christianity as made 
him determine to die rather than betray his guest. When 
brought before the judge, charged with concealing a blas- 
phemer of the Roman gods, he avowed himself a Chris- 
tian, and refused, in spite of torture, to burn incense at 
the heathen altars. He was, therefore, sentenced to 
death, and beheaded outside the city; but his constancy 
and devotion caused so many others to profess the Chris- 
tian faith that the Roman judges were obliged to with- 
hold the enforcement of the persecuting edicts. On the 
spot where S. Alban was killed the Christians soon 



282 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



erected a church to his memory, which was replaced, as 
centuries rolled by, with larger and more magnificent 
structures. The present church at S. Albans, which was 
made a cathedral in 1877, contains all that remains of the 
shrines of Amphibalus and his martyred convert. 

The " Alleluia " Victory. 

In the year 430, while two bishops from France, named 
Germanus and Lupus, were on a visit to England, some 
barbarous heathen tribes from Scotland invaded the 
country. It was the Lenten season, and the clergy were 
engaged in preparing their candidates for the great an- 
nual baptism at Easter. As soon as the festival was over 
Bishop Germanus, who had been a general before he be- 
came a bishop, undertook to lead the forces of the south 
against their northern adversaries. The combatants on 
both sides were simple-minded people, and the su- 
perior intellect of the bishops soon invented a ruse which 
resulted in a bloodless victory. By the aid of scouts they 
learned the movements of the northern insurgents, and 
hid the lustiest and most active of the southerners in a 
wooded valley. The Picts came over and down the hills 
expecting no opposition, and were almost close to the 
ambuscade, when, at a given signal from Germanus, the 
clergy shouted ''Alleluia!" Their followers repeated 
the word as one man, raising a shout which reverberated 
to the hills, and gradually increased in volume of sound. 
Their enemies were unused to such disciplined move- 
ments, and imagining from the noise that their adversa- 
ries greatly outnumbered themselves, were smitten with 
sudden terror, threw away their weapons, and fled back to 
their hills in precipitate disorder. This has been called 
the " Alleluia Victory," and the place where it is said to 



NINETEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 283 



have occurred, Maes Garmon " (the field of Ger- 
manus), is still pointed out, near Mold, in Flintshire. 

Gregory and the English Slaves. 

Bede, the historian of the Anglo-Saxon Church (died 
A.D. 735), gives us the following account of how Gregory 
the Great, afterwards Bishop of Rome, but at that time 
abbot of a monastery in Rome, became interested in the 
heathen tribes of Angles, who had seized the southern 
part of what was afterwards called from them Engla- 
land, or England. He writes: " They say that on a cer- 
tain day, when, some merchants having lately arrived, 
many things were collected in the market-place for 
sale, and many persons had come together to buy, 
Gregory himself came among the rest, and saw some boys 
put up for sale, of a white body and fair countenance, and 
also with hair of remarkable beauty. Whom, when he 
beheld, he asked, as they say, from what region or land 
they were brought. And it was said that they were 
brought from the island of Britain, whose inhabitants 
were of such an aspect. Again he asked whether these 
same islanders were Christians, or still entangled in the 
errors of paganism; and it was said that they were pa- 
gans. Then he, drawing deep sighs from the bottom of 
his heart, said: 'Alas for grief! that the author of dark- 
ness possesses men of so bright countenance, and that so 
great grace of aspect bears a mind void of inward 
grace.' Then again he asked what was the name 
of that nation. It was answered that they were 
called Angles. ' It is well,' he said, ' for they have 
an angelic face besides, and such it befits to be the 
co-heirs of angels in heaven.' * What name has that 
province from which they are brought? ' It was an- 



284 FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 

swered that the people of that province were called Deiri. 
' Well/ he said, ' are they called De ira, withdrawn from 
anger, and called to the mercy of Christ.' ' How is the 
king of that province called? ' It was answered that he 
was called ^lla; then he, alluding to the name, said, 
* Alleluia! it behoves that the praise of God the Creator 
should be sung in those parts.' And going to the pontiff 
of the Roman and Apostolic See (for he was not himself 
as yet made Pope), he asked him to send some ministers 
of the Word into Britain to the nation of the Angles, by 
whom it might be converted to Christ, saying that he 
himself was ready to accomplish this work, with the co- 
operation of the Lord, if the Apostolic Pope thought fit 
that it should be done. Which, at that time, he was not 
able to accomplish, because, although the pontiff was 
willing to grant him his request, the citizens of Rome 
could not be induced to consent that he should go so far 
from the city." 

S. Augustine, the Apostle of the Anglo-Saxons. 

When Gregory the Great became Bishop of Rome he 
still retained his intention of doing what he could to con- 
vert the Angles of Britain, some of whose fair-haired 
children he had seen in the slave market at Rome. Ac- 
cordingly he appointed his friend, Augustine, a priest in 
the monastery of S. Andrew, to head a band of forty mis- 
sionaries to that country, and provided them abundantly 
with money and everything necessary for their long 
journey. When passing through Gaul they heard re- 
assuring news. Bertha, the daughter of Charibert, King 
of Paris, had been married to Ethelbert, King of the 
Jutes in Kent, on condition that she should be permitted 
to continue the exercise of the Christian religion in which 



NINETEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 285 

she had been trained; and Liudhard, previously Bishop of 
SenHs, went with her as spiritual adviser. To the Kentish 
people, therefore, the Italian missionaries found their 
way, landing on the Isle of Thanet in the spring of 597. 
From thence they sent their homage to the king at Can- 
terbury, who gave them permission to remain there until 
he decided what course to adopt. He had, of course, 
heard of Christianity from Bertha and Bishop Liudhard, 
but seemed to think that the miracles recorded of the 
Saviour and His followers were attributable to witchcraft. 
For this reason he declined to meet the missionaries in 
any house, but invited them to address him in the open 
air, where he believed the demoniac spells could have no 
power. On the day appointed the little band of forty mis- 
sionaries came before the king and queen in solemn pro- 
cession. One carried a silver cross, while another bore a 
picture of the Saviour, and as they advanced they chanted 
a Gregorian litany. The king was much impressed by the 
scene. He listened graciously to the speech of Augus- 
tine, or rather to the interpreter's translation of it, and 
then gave them liberty to remain where they had been 
staying, offering them hospitality and a dwelling place. 
He allowed them to preach to such of his people as 
were willing to listen, but said he could not then person- 
ally assent to the new doctrines they proclaimed, seeing 
that by doing so he would have to renounce those which 
he and his people had for so long believed. The ultimate 
acceptance of Christianity by the Kentish Court was 
the result of several conferences between Ethelbert and 
his nobles, and on Whitsunday, 597, Ethelbert -and his 
Court were baptised. Prior to this Augustine and his 
followers had shared in the worship and ministrations 
conducted by Bishop Liudhard in the little church of 



286 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



S. Martin, to the east of the city of Canterbury, which had 
been built by the Britons in the time of the Roman 
occupation, and which Queen Bertha had rescued from 
heathen desecration that she might worthily offer her 
devotions to the Saviour. But when the king accepted 
Christianity he gave Augustine permission to preach in 
all parts of his dominion, and to rebuild and restore the 
ruined British churches which abounded in Kent. This 
is the story of the introduction of the Gospel to the Jutes, 
the first of the Anglo-.Saxon tribes that invaded Britain. 
These missionaries from Rome did good work in con- 
verting to the Christian faith the southeastern corner of 
the island and as far north as Buckinghamshire, but the 
chief work of conversion was accomplished by mission- 
aries from the Irish-Scottish Church, whose central mis- 
sion-house had been established on lona by S. Colum- 
ba, who died the very year that S. Augustine landed in 
Kent. 

The British Bishops and Augustine. 

The ancient British Church which Augustine found in 
the country when he came to teach the Anglo-Saxons 
had some customs different from the use of the Church 
elsewhere. Their rule for finding the proper Sunday on 
which to keep Easter was not that which is in our Prayer- 
book to-day; so that some years they would be observing 
the feast on a day different from that kept by the Church 
in France and Italy and Egypt. Then, again, they had a 
different way of applying water to persons to be baptised, 
doing it once instead of thrice. These were small mat- 
ters in themselves, but Augustine thought the way he had 
been accustomed to was best. He was probably right in 
this, but he was wrong in the way he tried to force an in- 



NINETEENTH SUNDA V AFTER TRINITY. 287 



dependent national Church to adopt his customs. It is 
no wonder, then, that the British bishops should have 
refused to acknowledge his right to interfere with the 
time-honoured rule of their forefathers. At Augustine's 
first meeting with them they refused (most wrongly in- 
deed) to join with him in trying to convert those Anglo- 
Saxons who had done them and their ancestors so much 
wrong. Then a second meeting was proposed, but be- 
fore this took place the British bishops, who were simple- 
minded men, unaccustomed to the ways of the world, en- 
quired from one of their most holy men who lived the life 
of a recluse, whether they ought to forsake their tradi- 
tions at the bidding of Augustine. His reply was, " If he 
be a man of God, follow him." They said, " And how 
can we ascertain this?" Then he replied, "The Lord 
saith, ' Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me, for I 
am meek and lowly in heart.' If, therefore, this Augus- 
tine is meek and lowly in heart, it is credible that both he 
himself bears the yoke of Christ, and offers it to you to 
bear; but if he is stern and proud, it is evident that he is 
not of God, and that his discourse ought not to be re- 
garded by us." And they again said, " And how can we 
discern even this? " " Contrive," said he, " that he and 
his people may come first to the place of the Synod; and 
if, at your approach, he rise up to you, hear him with sub- 
mission, knowing that he is a servant of Christ; but if he 
slight you, and will not rise up in your presence, when 
you are more in number, let him also be disregarded by 
you," The council met under a great oak at a place now 
called Aust (an abbreviated form of x\ugustine), on the 
borders of Wales, and for this reason it has been named 
the " Synod of the Oak." Unfortunately for the claims 
of Romanists, Augustine adopted a very haughty de- 



288 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



meanour. The British deputation was a large one. Seven 
bishops attended, accompanied by many learned men 
from the famous monastery of Bangor on the Dee, but 
Augustine neglected to rise and bid them welcome. This 
was enough. " He could not have the spirit of Christ," 
and they refused to yield. They would observe none of 
his customs nor accept him as their chief, for " if he 
would not rise up to us just now, how much more will he 
despise us if we begin to be subject to him? " Dinooth, 
one of their number, explained that, although they owed 
fraternal love to the Church of God, and the Bishop of 
Rome, and indeed to all Christians, they owed no other 
obedience to him whom Augustine called Pope. Another 
reason why they could not submit to him or his repre- 
sentative was that they were already subject to the Met- 
ropolitan Bishop of Caerleon-on-Usk, w^ho was.- under 
God, their spiritual overseer. Whereupon Augustine 
added to his discourtesy a public threat of violence: " If 
they will not accept peace with their brethren," said he, 
they shall receive war from their enemies, and if they 
will not preach the way of life to the nation of the Angles 
they shall suffer at their hands the vengeance of death." 
But the Celtic Christians were not devoid of the true mis- 
sionary spirit, although they were still forced to maintain 
a defensive attitude against the aggressive designs of their 
conquerors. In the years that were coming their mis- 
sions played a larger part in the re-establishment of the 
Faith in their fatherland, amongst their persecutors, than 
did the missions of Augustine. 



Bishop Paulinus in Northumbria. 

Bede, the English Church historian in the seventh cen- 
tury, tells us this story about the work of Paulinus, the 



NINETEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 289 



missionary bishop whom Augustine sent to convert the 
Saxons in Northumbria in 626. PauHnus had to give up 
his work later, and S. Aidan, from the Irish Church, 
carried it on successfully. But this is the way Bede tells 
us his work began: King Edwin's wife was a Christian, 
and, her husband was thinking about becoming one him- 
self. First, however, he called together a witan, or coun- 
cil, of his wise men, and asked them what they thought. 
One after another gave their opinion, but at last a thane, 
or chieftain, rose up and said that he was reminded of 
what happened sometimes in the royal palace, when the 
king and his ministers sat at supper in winter, with a 
good fire in the midst, whilst storms of rain and snow pre- 
vailed outside. Sometimes, he said, a sparrow flew in at 
one door and out at the other into the dark and cold. 
While the sparrow was within he was safe for a little 
from the wintry storm, but as soon as he departed he van- 
ished from sight into the dark winter from which he had 
come. " So," said the thane, " this life of man appears 
for a short space, but of what went before, or what is to 
follow, we are utterly ignorant. If, therefore," he added, 
" this new doctrine contains something more certain, it 
seems justly to deserve to be followed." Paulinus then 
addressed the witan, and with such success that the 
heathen high priest suggested the immediate demolition 
of the heathen temples, and forthwith commenced it with 
his own hands. 

Aidan, the Apostle of Northumbria. 

The work of Paulinus came to an end in a few years in 
Northumbria. The kingdom was overrun by another 
Saxon tribe, which remained heathen. The king was 
killed, and the queen and bishop had to flee for their 
19 



290 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



lives. Oswald, one of the king's sons, while still a boy, 
had taken refuge from his enemies in the little and distant 
island of lona. Here he was educated, and became a 
Christian under the care of the Irish missionaries there. 
Having recovered his kingdom, he set about the conver- 
sion of his people, and accordingly sent to ask his kind 
friends in lona to send him a Christian teacher. This 
they did, but the man they sent was not fit for the work; 
he was stern and unbending, but the people were also 
unbending, and he could make no progress with them. 
Overwhelmed with disappointment, he returned to those 
who had sent him, and, as he told the story of his failure, 
one of the brethren said: " Methinks, brother, thou hast 
been harsher than was needful to thy untaught hearers. 
Hast thou not forgotten the maxim of the Apostle about 
' milk for babes,' that by degrees they may be nourished 
by the Divine Word, and enabled to keep the higher pre- 
cepts of God? " The speaker was Aidan, and the monks 
of lona agreed that he was the man to be sent to King 
Oswald's people. The Celtic bishops consecrated him a 
bishop, and in the summer of 635 he arrived in Northum- 
bria. King Oswald gave him the small island of Lin- 
disfarne, now called Holy Island, a few miles south of the 
river Tweed. There a church and monastery were built, 
and schools and colleges for the training of missionaries 
who could speak the Anglian tongue. The men thus 
trained were soon in great demand, and by their means 
the monastic settlement of Lindisfarne was able to intro- 
duce the Celtic customs and the rule of lona over the 
greater part of Britain, among tribes who refused to hear 
the preaching of Welsh or Italian missionaries. 



NINETEENTH SUNDA V AFTER TRINITY. 291 



Bishop Wilfrid and the Roman Claims. 

Wilfrid was the son of a Northumbrian thane, and was 
a remarkably bright and attractive boy. After receiving 
his education at the monastery in Lindisfarne he travelled 
abroad to France and Italy. Here he learnt how much 
superior in many ways were the customs of the conti- 
nental Churches to those of the simple and rude Scottish 
mission among the English, in which he had been 
brought up. All the rest of Wilfrid's life was spent in 
trying to introduce these more civilised, and really better, 
customs among his countrymen. Unfortunately he did 
not always take the best or most gentle way of persuad- 
ing his old friends to adopt these changes in ritual and 
worship. With all his great ability and earnestness he 
showed much wilfulness, so that most of his life he was in 
trouble. In 664 he was elected Bishop of York; then he 
went to France to be consecrated, but he stayed so long 
(tv/o years, in fact) that his people got tired waiting and 
put another bishop in his place. He obtained his see a 
few years later, but again lost it in 677, being banished by 
the king for persuading his wife to go into a convent. 
Thereupon the Archbishop of Canterbury, with the con- 
sent of the king, divided his old see into four, and Wilfrid 
went to Rome to make what was the first appeal ever pre- 
sented to that see against the action of the English 
Church. What follows is very instructive, as showing 
us how independent the English Churches at this time 
were of all foreign interference. They were grateful to 
these foreign Churches for missionary help. They were 
perfectly willing to learn their better custom, their music, 
their architecture, their more orderly methods of worship 
and government, out one thing they would not yield to, 



292 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



namely, the tyrannical decision of any foreign bishop, 
even of one as great as the Bishop of Rome. A Roman 
synod pronounced entirely in Wilfrid's favour, and de- 
creed that he should be reinstated in York, but when he 
came home and presented the decision to the witan of 
Northumbria they refused to accept it. They even burned 
the papal letters, and kept Wilfrid in prison for nine 
months. After his release Wilfrid did splendid mission- 
ary work among the South Saxons, who still remained 
heathen, and in 686 he was restored to a portion of his 
old see. But trouble followed him even after this. He 
was driven from his see again in 691, and in 702 a council 
of bishops, at Easterfield, deposed him from the see of 
York, when he was almost seventy, because he persisted 
in his appeal to Rome as against the authority of his own 
Archbishop of Canterbury. He is all the more blame- 
able," said the king and the archbishop, because he has 
chosen to be judged at Rome rather than by us." Wilfrid 
lived seven years longer, and died in peace in 709. He 
was the ablest man of his time, and the most devoted of 
workers for Christ and His Church, but his history shows 
very plainly that the Church am.ong the English had no 
mind in those days to give up its independence as an 
Apostolic Church at the bidding of any foreign bishop. 



The Venerable Bede. 

Bede, or Beda, was born near Wearmouth, in Durham, 
A.D. 673. He entered the monastery of S. Peter, in his 
native place, as a pupil of the clergy, when he was only 
seven years old, and he remained until he was nineteen. 
Then he removed to the neighbouring monastery of Jar- 
row to continue his studies, and there he was ordained 



NINETEENTH SUNDA Y AFTER TRINITY. 293 

deacon. Bede was a great student, probably the most dis- 
tinguished scholar in the world of his time. The monks 
at Wearmouth and Jarrow had a good library, and had at 
least one fine musician, John, the chief singer of S. 
Peter's, in Rome, whom Benedict Biscop, the abbot, in- 
duced to come to Wearmouth. At thirty Bede was or- 
dained priest, and henceforth, in the shelter of this quiet 
and sacred retreat, and while the tempest of barbaric 
strife was raging around between Saxon and Briton, he 
devoted himself to study and the writing of such books 
as it was possible to produce in those times. He wrote 
sermons, lives of saints, hymns, grammars, and com- 
ments on Holy Scripture. His History of the Church in 
England from the earliest times down to within four 
years of his death, in 735, is the most valuable of all his 
writings. It gives us almost all the information that we 
possess about the early history of England. Bede's 
calm and gentle spirit, and the holiness of his life, 
present a striking contrast to the violence and slaughter 
which prevailed in the whole island in his day. 
When he was very ill and near the close of his life 
he began a translation of S. John's Gospel into An- 
glo-Saxon for the benefit of his countrymen. Cuthbert, 
one of his pupils, wrote a full account of his last days, 
which gives us a most interesting glimpse of the life of a 
priest among his scholars in a monastery in the eighth 
century. " As soon as morning broke, that is, on the 
Wednesday [before Ascension Day]," writes Cuthbert, 
he urged us to make haste with the writing which we 
had begun. We did so till nine o'clock, when we walked 
in procession, according to the usage of that day. But 
one of our party said to him, ' Dearest master, one chap- 
ter is still wanting; can you bear our asking you about 



294 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



it? ' He answered, ' I can bear it; take your pen, and be 
ready, and write quickly.' Thus he passed the day in joy, 
until the evening, when the above-named youth said to 
him, ' Dear master, there is yet one sentence not written/ 
He answered, ' Write quickly.' Presently the youth said, 
* Now it is written.' He replied, ' Good; thou hast said 
the truth; it is finished; take my head into thy hands, for 
it is very pleasant to me to sit facing my old praying place 
and thus to call upon my Father.' And so, on the floor 
of his cell he sang, * Glory be to the Father, and to the 
Son, and to the Holy Ghost ' ; and just as he said ' Holy 
Ghost ' he breathed his last, and went to the realms 
above." 

Stephen Langton and the Great Charter. 

Stephen Langton was Archbishop of Canterbury in the 
reign of King John. Though he was nominated by the 
Pope to that high position, Langton was a thorough 
Englishman, loyal to the traditions and customs of his 
country and his country's Church. King John had 
proved himself a tyrant, ruling the land by his own will, 
and paying little attention to the ancient laws and tradi- 
tional rights of freeborn Englishmen. And John's great 
ally and helper in all this tyranny was the Bishop of 
Rome, Pope Innocent HI. It was to oppose this tyranny 
of king and pope that the brave archbishop and one of 
the great barons, Robert Fitz-Walter, formed what was 
called " The Army of God and Holy Church." Langton 
was the spokesman of the army, and the leaders, with the 
archbishop at their head, met King John on a little island 
of the Thames, called Runnymede, near Windsor. Here 
they presented to him their demands in the shape of a 
charter, which they required him to sign. This Great 



■ NINETEENTH SUNDA V AFTER TRINITY. 295 

Charter, or Magna Charta, as it was called in Latin, and 
which John was forced to sign, secured the rights of Eng- 
lishmen in Church and State against the tyranny of both 
king and pope. The document was in Latin, like 
all legal papers of its day. Translated into English, 
its first clause reads: "That the Church of England 
[not Church of Rome in England, but Church of Eng- 
land] shall be free, and hold her rights entire and her lib- 
erties inviolate." After specifying what these rights are, 
and providing for freedom of the subject, and law and 
order in the kingdom, the charter ends, as it had com- 
menced, with a declaration concerning the freedom of 
the Church: "That the Church of England be free, and 
that all men have and hold the aforesaid liberties truly 
and peaceably, freely and quietly, fully and wholly, in 
all things and in all places forever." This " Great 
Charter" was signed by King John, June 15, 1215, and 
is still part of the foundation law of England. It shows 
us two things very clearly: First, that even in the depth 
of the Middle Ages there was no " Church of Rome " in 
England, but only the " Church of England," over which 
the Bishop of Rome did his utmost to rule tyrannically; 
and, second, that even in those days English Churchmen 
were so far from yielding to the false claims of Rome 
that both bishops and barons were as one man in oppos- 
ing them. 

The English Church and English Parliament. 

The first real English Parliament met in the Chapter 
House of Westminster Abbey in 1265. Before this there 
had been councils of the knights of the shire and nobles 
and prelates. In Anglo-Saxon days these had been called 
witans, or assemblies of " wise " men. But it was not 



296 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



until 1265 that representatives elected by the great body 
of the people were admitted and became part of the Par- 
liament of the nation. It was in this same Chapter House 
of Westminster that succeeding Parliaments of lords and 
commons continued to meet in London, until a suitable 
building was erected for their use elsewhere. All this 
shows plainly that the Church was not established by 
Parliament or by the state. The Church existed, and its 
parishes and bishoprics were endowed by the free gift of 
its people, many centuries before Parliament existed, and 
even before the petty Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were 
united into one state. It would be more correct to say 
that the Church united and established the state than that 
the state established the Church. 

Some Reasons for the Reformation in England. 

After the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, the in- 
fluence of the Bishop of Rome increased there rapidly. 
William the Conqueror had indeed written to the Pope, 
" Homage to thee I have not chosen, nor do I choose to 
do. Neither do I find that it was ever performed by my 
predecessors to thine." But William's successors to the 
crown were not, for the most part, so bold and independ- 
ent as he, and in time England's Church, like the other 
Churches of Western Europe, fell more and more under 
the usurped power of the Papacy. This power was 
largely exercised by the Pope claiming the right to fill 
vacant bishoprics and other important positions in the 
Church. If he had put Englishmen into these it would 
not have been so hard to bear, but the Pope was not con- 
tent with this, but filled them with foreigners, chiefly 
Italians, and even sold his appointments for money. In 
the year 1240 the Pope wrote to the Archbishop of Can- 



NINETEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 297 



terbury and the Bishops of Lincoln and Sarum teUing 
them to provide for three hundred Italian clergy in the 
earliest vacant livings. 

First Steps in the Reformation in England. 

The work of reforming the Church of England was car- 
ried on by her own Bishops and representative clergy 
in their Council or " Convocation," as it was called. For 
instance, in 1531, the Convocation, with Archbishop War- 
ham at its head, petitioned the Crown that they might 
be relieved from their payments to a foreign Bishop 
away off in Italy, and that, if the Pope refused this re- 
quest, England might be withdrawn entirely from his 
obedience. In 1534, by Act of the English Parliament, 
all appeals to Rome were abolished, and, what was much 
more important, in the same year, the two houses of Con- 
vocation, Bishops and representative Clergy, declared 
" that the Bishop of Rome had no more jurisdiction than 
any other foreign prelate in this realm." In 1538, at the 
request of Convocation an order was issued by the King, 
that a copy of what was called The Great Bible " in 
English should be set up in some convenient place in 
every church, where the parishioners might come and 
read it. In this way eager crowds came to avail them- 
selves of the privilege, and a knowledge of Holy Scrip- 
ture spread among all classes. The committee of learned 
Bishops and other clergy, appointed by Convocation to 
translate and revise the old prayer books of the Church, 
finished their work in 1548, and on Whitsunday of next 
year the reformed Prayer Book, in substance as we have 
it to-day, was first used throughout the country. It was 
of this book, afterwards called The First Prayer Book 
of Edward VI," it was declared by King and Parliament 



298 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



that it was " set forth by the aid of the Holy Ghost," and 
it was in reference to this book Archbishop Cranmer of- 
fered to prove that the Order of the Church of England, 
set out by authority of Edward VI, was the same that had 
been used in the Church for fifteen hundred years past." 



TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER 
TRINITY. 

THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH IN IRE- 
LAND, SCOTLAND, THE UNITED STATES, 
ETC. 

S. Patrick, the Apostle of Ireland. 

About the year 403 a band of heathen robbers attacked 
the town of Dumbarton on the Clyde in Scotland, and 
carried away a boy of sixteen whose name was Succath, 
but who was afterwards called by the honourable name of 
Patricius or Patrick. Patrick's father was a deacon and 
his grandfather was a priest of the British Church, so 
that he received a good education. The pirates took 
their prisoner to what is now the county Antrim in the 
north of Ireland, where he was forced to tend cattle be- 
longing to the chief of the region. Here he remained, 
as he himself tells us, for six years, and of course learned 
the language of the people. In his old happy home he 
had been careless about his Christian duties, but his soli- 
tude and misfortunes made him feel the importance of 
his religion as he had never done before. He tells us 
that the love of God increased in him so mtich that in a 
single day he would say a hundred prayers, and that he 
frequently arose to prayer in the woods and mountains 
before daylight, in snow and frost and rain. At length 



300 FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 

one night, as he tells us^ he heard a voice in a dream 
saying to him, Thy fasting is well. Thou shalt soon re- 
turn to thy own country." He w.aited a little and again 
had a dream in which the same voice told him the ship 
was 'ready, but was distant two hundred miles. At this 
he fled from his master, reached the ship, and safely made 
his escape to France and afterwards to his father's house 
in Scotland. Here he could not rest satisfied. Like 
Livingstone or Bishop Patteson, he felt the voices of per- 
ishing multitudes continually sounding in his ears, 
Come over and help us." Of this time he writes, I saw 
in the midst of the night a man, who appeared to come 
from Ireland, and he had innumerable letters with him, 
one of which he gave to me. I read the commencement 
of the epistle containing ' The Voice of the Irish ' and as 
I read aloud the beginning of the letter I thought I heard 
in my mind the voice of those who were near the wood of 
Fochlut, and they cried out ' We entreat the holy youth 
to come and walk still among us.' And my heart was 
greatly touched, so that I could not read any more. So 
I awoke." Shortly after this S. Patrick was ordained, 
probably by Germanus the Bishop of Auxerre in France, 
and set out for his work. It was about the year 432 that, 
thus commissioned, and accompanied by twelve friends, 
he landed at the place where the town of Wicklow now 
stands. Proceeding northwards, he had the good fortune 
to convert Sinell, King of Leinster, the very chief who 
had expelled Palladius, and after a few years met with 
such success as to be able to establish the see of Armagh, 
which has ever since been the chief bishopric of Ireland. 
Before S. Patrick died, he had organized a thoroughly 
efficient ecclesiastical svstem in the Emerald Isle, with 
monasteries governed by native clergy, which became 



TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 301 



centres of education, refinement, and missionary enter- 
prise. 

S. Columba, the Apostle of Scotland. 

In the year 521 at Gartin, in the county Donegal in Ire- 
land, a little child was born of noble parents to whom was 
given the name of Columba, or " The Dove." It was 
ninety years since S. Patrick had first brought the news 
of the Gospel and established the Church in Ireland, and 
already there were many monasteries and religious 
houses, which were the Christian schools and colleges of 
those days, scattered over all the land. One of the most 
famous of these was that of Moville near Newtownards, 
and here the young boy Columba was educated. Feeling 
himself called to the ministry of the Church, he was or- 
dained a priest, and was made abbot or chief priest of 
the monastery of Durrogh. While visiting his old tutor, 
Finnian of Moville, Columba secretly copied a manu- 
script of the Psalter belonging to his host. When the 
work was finished Finnian happening to see it claimed 
the copy, but Columba resisted the claim. Diarmid, King 
of Ulster, a relative of Columba, was asked to arbitrate 
between them, and on the strength of the old proverb, 
" Mine is the calf that is born of my cow," the king de- 
cided that the copy belonged to the owner of the book. 
Columba was not pleased at having to give up his hard- 
earned treasure, and before he left the famous hall of 
Tara, where the king held his court, considered himself 
still further aggrieved by some violation of tribal rights. 
In anger he sought the King of Connaught, and insti- 
gated him to make war on King Diarmid, who was de- 
feated. The bishops and abbots held a council, to con- 
sider the conduct of Columba, and judged that as he was 



302 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



the cause of all the bloodshed by which many sons were 
lost to the Church, he should be banished from his native 
land until he had won from the heathen as many souls to 
Christ as would replace the number slain in battle. To 
this decree Columba bowed, and taking with him twelve 
companions he crossed over to Scotland in a coracle 
made of wicker work and covered with ox-hides. They 
landed on the small island of lona, on the eve of Whit- 
sunday, A.D. 565. King Council, a kinsman of Columba, 
gave him this isle to be used for religious purposes. 
Here a monastery was founded to which the whole of 
northern Scotland, and the many isles surrounding it, 
owe their first knowledge of Christianity. The monastic 
buildings at the first were of course primitive and inade- 
quate, possibly of twigs and reeds intertwined and cased 
with mud, but by degrees a complete establishment in 
harmony with those of older Christian colonies was 
raised; and many of the brethren trained therein have 
occupied a conspicuous place in the early history of the 
English Church. The words of its founder spoken a few 
hours before he died (June 9, a.d. 597) — " To this place, 
little and poor though it be, there shall come great hon- 
our, not only from Scottish kings and peoples, but from 
barbarous and foreign nations, and from the saints of 
other Churches also " — have been most literally fulfilled. 
Notwithstanding the share of earthly trials that came 
upon that sacred spot, it has always been true to the faith 
it then received, and visitors to Scotland may still wor- 
ship within its holy walls, now repaired by the Lord of 
the Isle. Many other monasteries, both in Britain and 
Ireland, trace their origin to lona, but none of them can 
wrest the chief place from that in which Columba's bones 
were laid. The kings of Scotland were for many genera- 



TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 303 



tions crowned by Columba and his successors at lona, 
on the " Stone of Scone," a piece of Irish sandstone, 
which Columba probably carried with him from his native 
land. This stone was taken from Scone (pronounced 
Scoon) Abbey, near Perth, by King Edward I. in 1296, 
and now forms part of the Coronation chair in Westmin- 
ster Abbey, on which all the kings and queens of England 
have ever since been crowned. 

The First Missions in America. 

John Cabot, of Bristol, sailing under the flag of Eng- 
land, was the real " discoverer of America," he having 
been the first to see the mainland, of Labrador or Nova 
Scotia, on S. John's Day, June 24, 1497. Columbus in 
1492 had only reached the West Indian Islands. The 
Holy Communion was celebrated on the shore of Hud- 
son's Bay in 1578 by an English priest, " Master Wol- 
fall," accompanying Frobisher's expedition. Another 
English priest named Fletcher, accompanying Sir Fran- 
cis Drake, held divine service on the coast of California 
in 1579. But the first service in connection with a per- 
manent colony was held on August 13, 1587, on the 
island of Roanoke, in North Carolina, but then forming 
part of Virginia. It was here that Manteo, an Indian 
chief, was baptised by a priest of the Church of England. 
Seven days later Virginia Dare, the granddaughter of 
John White, the Governor, received the Sacrament, 
being, as it is recorded, " the first Christian borne in Vir- 
ginia." On May 13, 1607, another colony arrived at 
Jamestown, Virginia, with the Rev. Robert Hunt as its 
chaplain. Immediately upon their arrival, arran^^ements 
were made for divine service. An old sail served for an 
awning, rails of wood for walls, and a bar of wood nailed 



304 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



to two trees for pulpit, with an altar of equally rustic 
character. Before long a simple church building was put 
up, and the Rev. Mr. Hunt was not content with Sunday 
services, but said Morning and Evening Prayer daily. 
The following special prayer was used in the church at 
Jamestown, " We beseech Thee to bless us, and this our 
plantation which we and our nation have begun in Thy 
fear and for Thy glory. And seeing, Lord, the highest 
end of our plantation here is to set up the standard and 
display the banner of Jesus Christ, . . . Lord, let 
our labour be blest in the conversion of the heathen. 
And seeing by Thy motion and work in our hearts, we 
have left our warme nests at home, and put our lives into 
our hands, principally to honour Thy Name and advance 
the kingdome of Thy Son, Lord, give us leave to com- 
mit our lives into Thy hands; let Thy angels be about 
us, and let us be as angels of God sent to this people. 
. . . Lord blesse England our sweete native country. 
Save it from Popery, this land from heathenisme, and 
both from atheisme." The church at Jamestown was the 
scene of the first recorded meeting of a body of legisla- 
tors in America, known as the House of Burgesses. It 
was held July 30, 1619. Measures were adopted looking 
to the better support of clergy and of public services, 
the protection and Christianizing of the Indians, the re- 
pression of vice and immorality, and the erection of a 
college or university. It was in this religious and en- 
lightened spirit that the first English colonists landed in 
America. It was in the same spirit that the first settle- 
ment was made by Churchmen in New England. Two 
vessels, Mary and John and the City of God, under 
Captains Gilbert and Popham, and with the Rev. Richard 
Seymour as chaplain, landed at the island of Monhegan, 



TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 305 



of¥ the mouth of the Kennebec in Maine, Sunday, 
August 9, 1607. Here they held divine service by tlie 
side of a cross set up in the ground. On the 19th they 
had service on the mainland, at the mouth of the Ken- 
nebec, on the occasion of commencing a fort there, which 
they called S. George. It is worth observing that all 
these beginnings were made both in Church and ^tate 
considerably before the Puritans landed in New England. 
Their first settlement was made only in 1620. 

Perils of Attending Church Services in America. 

Many of the Church people in the early days brought 
with them their fire-arms and a supply of ammunition, 
to protect themselves from the Indians. Later on we 
have an account of a clergyman, living near the present 
city of Washington, who for more than six months 
preached with a pair of loaded pistols on the cushion by 
his side, that he might defend himself against any attempt 
to remove him on account of his political views! 

A Church without a Bishop. 

For 177 years the English Church in America was 
obliged to carry on its work without a resident Bishop. 
This was the result of the efforts of its religious and po- 
litical opponents, whose object was to cripple the Church 
as much as they could. The Bishop of London had the 
oversight of the Church, but it was of course impossible 
for him at such a distance to be more than its Bishop in 
nam.e. No person could be confirmed and no candidates 
for the ministry could be ordained except by crossing the 
Atlantic at great expense. So great also was the danger 
from shipwreck and smallpox that, it is said, one out of 
20 



3o6 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES, 



every five young men who made the attempt never re- 
turned. 

Puritan Persecution of the Church in Connecticut. 

Mr. John Beach, writing from Reading in the middle 
of the 1 8th century, says concerning the condition of 
Churchmen in Connecticut: ''The case of this people is 
very hard. If on the Lord's Day they stay at home, they 
must be punished. If they meet to worship God accord- 
ing to the Church of England, their mulct is still greater; 
and if they go to the Independent meeting in the town 
where they live, they must endure the mortification of 
hearing the doctrine and worship of the Church vilified." 

Opposition to the Church in Connecticut. 

In 1706 the Rev. George Muirson, of Rye, N. Y., accom- 
panied by Colonel Heathcote, Mayor of New York, w^ho 
went fully armed, officiated at Stratford, where he bap- 
tised a large number of adults and children. His visit 
aroused the enemies of the Church, who threatened him 
with personal violence, and charged him with transgress- 
ing the Colonial law in holding his services. Many on 
their way to attend them were insulted and intimidated, 
one of the members of the Council threatening each one 
of them with a fine of five pounds if they persisted in 
going to church. To-day the Church in Connecticut is 
stronger than in any State in the Union. So much for 
the effect of persecution. 

Persecution of Churchmen in Massachusetts. 

Mr. John Checkly, an earnest layman of Boston, 
printed in 1723 a Discourse Concerning Episcopacy," 



TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 307 



in which he contended for its primitive and Apostohc 
institution. For this he was at once proceeded against 
at law. At first he was peremptorily denied a hearing 
and pronounced guilty. On his appeal to the Court of 
Assizes, he was finally condemned, fined fifty pounds, 
imprisoned, and ordered to keep silence. Some of the 
Puritans declared that if any Bishops came to the coun- 
try, they would themselves help to throw them into the 
river ! 

Conversions to the Church in New England. 

In 1722 Timothy Cutler, President of Yale College, and 
two of its tutors, Samuel Johnson and Daniel Brown, all 
prominent Congregational ministers, publicly renounced 
their errors and were received into the Church. This 
event made a great stir at the time, and resulted in great 
benefit to the Church. Their conversion was largely 
owing to their study of the Prayer Book, and of some 
works of English divines belonging to the college 
library. They were promptly dismissed from their posts, 
and hotly abused by their former associates; being 
called " cudweds," " degenerate offspring," " high- 
flyers," etc. x\s Bishops were prohibited from coming to 
America by the animosity of the Puritans, the three con- 
verts sailed almost immediately for England, and were 
ordained in 1723 by the Bishop of Norwich. Johnson 
afterwards became president of King's College (now 
Columbia University), New York. 

The First American Bishop. 

Samuel Seabury was the son of a Congregational min- 
ister in Groton, Connecticut, who had conformed to the 



3o8 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



Church in 1730, and the same year was ordained deacon 
and priest by the Bishop of London. The son also 
studied for the ministry and was ordained in 1753. 
When the war of Independence was over in 1783, Mr. 
Seabury was chosen at a secret meeting of Connecticut 
clergy to be their Bishop. In June of that year he sailed 
for England with letters and testimonials. The English 
Bishops were so hampered by their connection with the 
State that they could not see their way to consecrating 
him. Then, after waiting for more than a year, Seabury 
appealed to the Scottish Bishops, who were not so ham- 
pered, and by them he was consecrated as the first 
Bishop of America on November 14, 1784. The Con- 
secration took place in a chapel in Aberdeen, and the 
Bishops officiating were Kilgour of Aberdeen, Petrie of 
Moray and Ross, and Skinner, Coadjutor Bishop of 
Aberdeen. On the day following, an agreement was 
made that Bishop Seabury should endeavour to intro- 
duce into America the Eucharistic Service as used by the 
Church of Scotland. It is owing to this agreement that 
the American Prayer Book was enriched by the Obla- 
tion " and " Invocation " which so distinguish its Com- 
munion office from that of the English book. 

More American Bishops. 

In 1786 the Rev. Dr. Provoost was elected by the Dio- 
cese of New York, and the Rev. Dr. White by the 
Diocese of Pennsylvania, as their respective Bishops. 
As soon as possible both went to England, and on Febru- 
ary 4, 1787, both were consecrated in Lambeth Palace 
Chapel in London. The Archbishop of Canterbury was 
assisted by the Archbishop of York and two other Bish- 
ops. On the following day they left London, and landed 



TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY, 309 



in New York on the afternoon of Easter Day, April 7. 
These two Bishops, together with Bishop Seabury, of 
Connecticut, who had received consecration from the 
Bishops of the CathoHc Church of Scotland, completed 
the number of Bishops necessary for a valid and regular 
succession in the Apostolic Ministry, and henceforth the 
Church of the United States became a completely organ- 
ised national branch of the Holy Catholic Church. 

Churchmen the Chief Founders of the United 
States. 

English Churchmen, or, as we would call them now, 
American Churchmen, were foremost both in the cause 
of American Independence and in guiding the growth of 
the nation. To this class belong the names of Washing- 
ton, the first President of the United States; of Henry 
Laurens, the first President of Congress, and of John 
Laurens, " the Bayard of the American Revolution "; of 
Robert Morris, its financier; of Patrick Henry, who 
sounded the note of alarm in Old S. John's, Richmond; 
of Livingston, leader of the opposition to the Stamp Act, 
and, later, the administrator of the oath of ofiftce to Presi- 
dent Washington; of Jef¥erscn, the author of the Decla- 
ration; of Lee, the mover of the Resolution of Independ- 
ence; of two-thirds of the signers of the Declaration of 
Independence, and of the framers of the Constitution of 
the United States; of Warren, of Bunker Hill, and Mont- 
gomery of Quebec; of eight out of the twelve generals 
early appointed by Washington, and of Provoost (after- 
wards chaplain of Congress), Croes and Smith, who bore 
arms in the American cause and later served the Church 
in the Episcopate. The first ecclesiastical response to the 
Declaration was made by the united parishes of Christ 



310 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



Church and S. Peter's, Philadelphia, on the evening of 
the Fourth of July, where the Prayer Book was altered 
to suit the new conditions of civil life. It was an Angli- 
can layman, John Dixon, on the State House steps, who 
read aloud the Declaration to the assembled patriots; and 
several wxeks earlier than this, June 19, the -first 
Declaration of Independence was passed by the vestry 
of S. Paul's Church, Edenton, North Carolina, that body 
solemnly pledging itself on the side of American liberty. 
Moreover, the first chaplain of Congress was a priest, 
afterward Bishop (White) of the American Church, the 
opening service being from the Book of Common 
Prayer. 

Military Priests and Bishops. 

While John Peter Muhlenberg was rector of Wood- 
stock, Virginia, he received a colonel's commission from 
Washington. After a patriotic sermon in church he took 
leave of his congregation in the following words: 
" There is a time for all things — a time to preach and a 
time to pray; but there is also a time to fight, and that is 
now come." He then gave them his benediction, and 
throwing back his surplice, discovered to them his mili- 
tary uniform. He ordered the drums to beat for recruits, 
and soon marched away with 300 soldiers. Muhlenberg 
became a major-general and remained in the army to 
the close of the war. This example is not one to be fol- 
lowed, though it was followed during the great civil war 
of 1861-5 by no less a personage than the Right Rev. 
Leonidas Polk, Bishop of Louisiana. Bishop Polk had 
been educated at West Point Military Academy, but ac- 
cepted a commission as major-general in the Confederate 
army. He was killed, in 1864, by a cannon shot while re- 



TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 311 



connoitring near Marietta in Georgia. The reverse of this 
course pursued by many who served in both armies is 
much more to be approved. Very many officers and 
men, who proved themselves brave soldiers during the 
war, are now ordained officers in Christ's Church mili- 
tant, doing the work of bishops and priests. 

Wesley's " Bishops." 

John Wesley was a priest of the English Church, and 
lived and died in its communion. He was a very earnest 
man, but did some very foolish things. He had founded 
an order of lay-preachers in America, and in his old age 
felt the necessity of having some one to oversee them. 
When he was 82, although only a priest and without any 
power to ordain, he presumeu to lay hands on a Dr. 
Coke, who was also an English priest, and to set him 
apart as a " superintendent " of the Methodist Societies 
in America. Afterwards Coke assumed the title of 
bishop." It was of this so-called consecration that 
Wesley's brother, Charles, wrote: 

So easily are bishops made 

By man's or woman's whim; 
Wesley his hands on Coke hath laid, 

But who laid hands on him? " 



TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER 

TRINITY {Continued). 



THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH {Continued). 
CHURCH PRINCIPLES, ETC. 

Confidence in One's Orders. 

The Rev. James Richmond, a clever and eccentric priest 
of the American Church, once crossed the Atlantic in the 
same vessel with the Rev. Dr. Sprague, an eminent Pres- 
byterian. The relations of the two men were very 
friendly during the voyage, and at its close Dr. Sprague 
said some of his best friends were clergymen of the Epis- 
copal (American) Church, but that there was one thing 
in them that he could not stand, namely, that they refused 
to recognize him as an ordained minister of Christ. 
" Doctor," was the reply, if every Presbyterian minister 
in the country should refuse to recognize me as a minister 
of Christ, it wouldn't trouble me in the least, because I 
know I am." 

" To Obey is better than Sacrifice." 

During the American Civil War an officer was ap- 
pointed to a particular position in the field to stand fast 
and hold it. Presently a column of the enemy gave him 
a tempting opportunity of attack. He advanced, won a 
brilliant victory, and then returned with guns and pris- 



314 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



oners, but only to hear the bugle sound the retreat. His 
gallant but unauthorized dash had marred the whole 
plan of battle. And so has it always proved in Christ's 
warfare. When men with good intentions assume au- 
thority, and attempt a work to which Christ has not ap- 
pointed them, disaster is sure to follow in the end. 

The Church that Has a Pedigree. 

General Buford, the famous horseman of Kentucky, 
was " converted " in middle life, and joined one of the 
many sects that abound in that region of the United 
States. Later on he left it to become a member of the 
American Church. On being asked why he did so, he 
replied, I can't belong to a ' scrub ' church which has 
no pedigree." 

Helping to Build the Church. 

Nearly a thousand years ago a poor man was living in a 
wretched mud cabin in a wild moorland district of 
Devonshire. He was a good man and felt that if there 
was only a church in this wild spot the people would be 
less savage and wicked. So day after day as he returned 
from his work he would pick up a large stone and carry it 
to a place near his cabin. He grew old and the heap of 
stones grew bigger, and then at last the old man died, 
saying with his last words that the stones would one day 
build a church to the glory of God. And it all turned 
out as the man had said. The Lord of the manor heard 
of the poor labourer's zeal, and undertook to carry out 
the work which he had begun, and so a parish church 
rose on the foundation of those very stones that the trust- 
ing peasant had collected. 



TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 315 



Patience with those who Differ from us. 

There is a legend of the East which tells us how once 
an aged traveller in the desert came, weary and parched 
with thirst, to the tent of Abraham. The Patriarch gave 
water to the traveller, who, before he drank, let his tired 
camel drink, and then turning toward the setting sun, 
poured out a few drops as an offering to the god of fire. 
When Abraham saw that the stranger was an idolater, 
he snatched the vessel of water from his hand, and re- 
fused to give him drink. Presently an angel appeared 
to the Patriarch and reproved him, telling him " That 
God had borne with that idolater these threescore years, 

" And find'st not thou patience to pity him 
Whom God hath pitied, waiting for the end? " 

"Who Gave thee this Authority?" 

It is a very natural thing when an ambassador comes 
to us that we should make diligent inquiry into his cre- 
dentials, so that we may know that he speaks with au- 
thority. It is the first step which one who comes to us 
from a foreign country or court takes. He presents his 
letters of credence before he can gain a hearing. This, 
however, does not seem by some to be thought at all 
necessary in the case of an ambassador from Heaven. 
When Dr. Wolfif was in the East, in the course of 
his wanderings he met a Syrian bishop. Who are 
you ? " said the bishop. " A missionary," was the 
answer, " come to preach salvation to these poor peo- 
ple. ' How shall they believe in Him of whom they 
have not heard, or how shall they hear without a 
preacher? ' " " Why do you not finish the text, ' How 



3i6 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



shall they preach except they be sent? ' " asked the 
bishop. Who sent you? " " My metropolitan sent me; 
his predecessors sent him; and I sent my priests and 
deacons. Now, who sent you? " The Spirit of the 
Lord," answered Dr. Wolfif. " Very well," replied the 
bishop. When God sends His ambassadors directly 
He sends their credentials with them. So He did in the 
case of Moses and of the Twelve. Miracles were their 
witnesses. To them they appealed to prove their au- 
thority. They did not expect men to take their unsup- 
ported word. We cannot take yours. What are your 
supernatural powers? " Dr. Wolff began to think of the 
subject in a new light. The result was that he came to 
America, and was ordained by the Bishop of New Jersey, 
Dr. G. W. Doane. 

" The Invincibles." 

Some regiments take to themselves this name of uncon- 
querable. This title belongs of right to our army, the 
Church of Jesus Christ. The band of soldiers amongst 
whom we are enrolled have fought the good fight over 
all the world; East and West, North and South, have 
yielded to the Cross. The Church may say, like the 
Roman victor of old, "I came, I saw, I conquered!" 

Thanks be to God, Who giveth us the victory, through 
our Lord Jesus Christ! " And has not our Lord Himself 
said of His Church, " The gates of hell shall not prevail 
against it! " 

Apostolic Succession. 

A Scottish Churchman, a sound lawyer, found himself 
seated by a neighbour who used some language of sar- 
castic contempt of the subject of Apostolic Succession. 



TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 317 



He did not take immediate notice of these remarks, but 
after a slight interval said, " By the way, is not Holy 
Communion to be administered in your church next 
Sunday? " " Well, it ought to be," replied the other, 
but there is some difhculty ; the minister who is to help 
ours has fallen ill." " Oh," said the Churchman, " sup- 
pose I come and administer it." "You!" said the first 
speaker, in a tone of astonishment, " w^hy, you are a 
layman." " Oh, then you think that a minister has some 
spiritual powers which a layman has not? " Certainly," 
was the reply. " But who," said the Churchman, " gave 
the minister these powers?" ''Well, I suppose his pre- 
decessors, who ordained him." "And who theirs?" 
" Why, their predecessors." " And who gave it them? " 
" Why, theirs." " Now, don't you see," said the Church- 
man, " that at some point you must allow a layman to 
have started up and claimed this right; or else by your 
continual retrogression you are affirming an Apostolical 
Succession? " The satirist was silenced, and frankly ad- 
mitted that he had never viewed the question in that light 
before. 



TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER 

TRINITY {Continued). 



THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH {Continued), 
CHURCH EXTENSION OR MISSIONS. 

" Go ye into all the World." 

Once a young clergyman said to the great Duke of Wel- 
lington that he did not see any use in sending mission- 
aries to the heathen in foreign lands when there were so 
many heathen at home. The Duke's answer was, 
" Look, sir, to your marching orders." Our Great Cap- 
tain, Jesus Christ, has said " Go," and we must simply 
obey. 

The Missionary Spirit. 

Once in mid-ocean a ship's crew discovered an aban- 
doned vessel. On the deck they found a man nearly 
dead from exhaustion and cold. They carried the sick 
man in safety to their boat and prepared to leave the 
wreck, when the man pointed his thin finger toward 
it and mustered up all his strength to say in a faint 
whisper, There's another man." They returned, 
searched the cabin, and saw the second man lying insen- 
sible and helpless. So both were saved. If we, too, have 
been rescued from a sinful life, let us never forget that 
" there's another man." 



320 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



The Heroes of the Church. 

When the first Napoleon was a young man living in 
Corsica, the hangings of his bed were of beautiful tapes- 
try, on which was worked the story of the heroes of old 
Greece. There the young Napoleon saw the might of 
Achilles and the grandeur of Agamemnon, and of many 
another ancient hero; and his heart was fired, and he, 
too, determined to become a hero and a conqueror. But 
the history of the Church of Christ has far grander 
heroes, brave men and women, and even children, who 
have fought and conquered and died for the cross of 
Christ. Try and learn about such men as S. Ignatius 
and S. Athanasius and S. Columba, and Bishop Patte- 
son, and Mackay and Bishop Hannington, the heroes of 
Uganda. 

Need of the Church in Heathen Lands. 

In the market square of Shanghai every one who comes 
to buy has his own pair of scales. He will not trust his 
neighbour. A Chinese wife is a mere " thing in the 
house," a chattel, or piece of furniture. Children in China 
are ruthlessly murdered if not satisfactory to their par- 
ents. The Comte de Beauvoir, in an evening walk out 
of the city of Canton, found seven abandoned babies, 
some purposely wounded, all of them blue and dying of 
cold. The Sisters of Charity go out to save all they can. 
In one year they picked up four thousand, most of them 
too far gone to be revived. 

Victories of the Church. 

In 1850 one could buy a man in the Fiji Islands for seven 
dollars, butcher him, and eat him, without public remon- 



TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 321 



strance. To-day the Bible is in nearly every house, and 
on Sunday nine-tenths of the people may be found as- 
sembled in the churches for public worship. 

Life Obtained in Working for Others. 

A TRAVELLER was crossing mountain heights of un- 
trodden snow alone. He struggled bravely against the 
overpowering sense of sleep, which seemed to weigh 
down his eyelids; but it w^as fast stealing over him, and 
if he had fallen asleep death would have been inevitable. 
At this crisis of his fate, his foot struck against a heap 
that lay across his path. No stone was that, though no 
stone could be colder. He found it to be a human body 
half-buried in snow. The next moment the traveller 
had taken a brother in his arms, and w^as chafing his 
chest and hands. This effort to save another brought 
back to himself life and energy. Speak to others of the 
life-giving Saviour, and you shall find it restoring vitality 
to your own soul. 

Apparently Lost Service in Missions. 

If there was ever a man who seemed to spend his life for 
nothing, it was Henry Martyn — a man of an exquisite 
nature, great power, and a swxet and loving disposition. 
Taking the highest honours at the university, and having 
the best prospects in the Church, he was led by the Spirit 
of God to consecrate himself to the cause of foreign mis- 
sions. For that object he sacrificed that which was 
dearer to him than life — for she to whom he was 
affianced declined to go with him. He forsook father 
and miother and native land and love itself, and went, 
21 



322 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



an elegant, accomplished scholar, among the East In- 
dians and Persians, and spent seven years (1805-1812) 
almost without a single conversion. Still he laboured on, 
patient and faithful, until, seized with a fever, he stag- 
gered. And the last record that he made in his journal 
was, that he sat under the orchard trees and sighed for 
that land where there should be sickness and suffering 
no more. The record closed — he died, and a stranger 
marked his grave. A worldly man would say, Here 
was an instance of mistaken zeal and enthusiasm. Here 
was a man who might have produced a powerful effect 
on the Church and in his own country, and built up a 
happy home, and been respected and honoured; but, un- 
der the influence of a strange fanaticism, he went abroad, 
and sickened and died, and that was the last of him." 
The last of him! Henry Martyn's life was the seed Hfe 
of myriads of noble souls. Scores and scores of mission- 
aries, who have brought into the Church multitudes of 
men in heathen lands, all over the world, have derived in- 
spiration and courage from the eminently fruitful, but 
apparently wasted and utterly thrown away, life of Henry 
Martyn. 

Missionary Zeal. 

What a striking scene is that which the historian de- 
scribes of Columbus, after his long and toilsome voyage, 
reaching the first land of the New World, and leaving the 
weather-beaten caravel, attired in scarlet, and holding 
the Royal Standard of Spain; then, after the keel of his 
galley had grated on the shore of the strange land, kneel- 
ing down to thank God, and rising up to plant the banner 
of his country in the soil, and thus claiming possession 
of the new territory in the name of his sovereigns, Ferdi- 



TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 323 



nand and Isabella! Just so should we strive to promote 
Christ's kingdom, to enroll new souls under His banner. 

Christ's Need of Helpers. 

" Christ alone can save the world, but Christ can't save 
the world alone." 

The Transformation of Uganda. 

Matters in Uganda came to a climax in May, 1886, 
when IMwanga himself attacked a Christian boy in his 
court with his spear, and sent him forth to execution, 
following this up with orders that all Christians should be 
killed. Many hid till the storm passed by, but some 
openly avowed their faith. IMunyaga Robato, the man 
who recovered Hannington's Bible, was seized in his 
house, but told his murderers that he would offer no re- 
sistance, and was flung into the flames after terrible muti- 
lation. Alexandro went boldly to the court and con- 
fessed himself a Christian. Xua, the blacksmith, pleaded 
with his jailers to accept Christ, and begged the life of 
cattle stealers imprisoned with him, because they were 
not ready to die. Kidza prayed for his master, the fierce 
executi'oner Mujasi. Some were thrust into the stocks. 
Thirty-two were burnt at one time. Even the execu- 
tioners owned to Mwanga that the Christians did not die 
like other men. Yet boys and women, as well as men, 
came still for baptism, and were received into the ark of 
Christ's Church in the deep shadows of the night. 
Mwanga had fought Christianity with all his might by 
his torturers, and he had failed. Henceforth its complete 
victory over Uganda was a mere question of time. The 



324 FIVE HUNDRED STORIES, 

infant Church came forth from the ordeal stronger than 
ever, though its strength was not yet to appear. The 
expedition of Stanley in search of Emin Pasha had 
reached in the autumn of 1889 the shores of the Albert 
Edward Nyanza lake, and Stanley was in some doubt as 
to their future course seaward. To the north lay Uganda, 
with its half-a-million spears and 2,000 guns. Every 
preparation was, therefore, made for difficulties, and all 
were on the alert. Just at this critical juncture, there 
suddenly appeared in camp a band of men in cotton 
dresses, spotlessly white, as well clothed as any of the 
tidiest natives of Zanzibar, intelligent, diplomatic, and 
sober, who announced to Stanley that they were the 
Christians of Uganda, and that they had come to ask him 
to restore, with their help, Mwanga, who had become a 
Christian. Stanley himself has left on record the surprise 
and pleasure with which he heard, after listening to the 
details of the revolution, that the persecuted Christian 
Church had become in twelve years from its commence- 
ment a political power so strong as to be able to depose 
the most powerful king in Africa, and to hold together 
against all possible combinations; but this was not all 
which he learned. He noticed that when they returned 
to their huts, they had little books which they drew out of 
the long folds of their dresses, and lay on the ground 
reading. These were the gospels and prayer books 
which Mackay and Ashe had printed for them. As he 
listened in camp to the stories of the martyrdom from the 
lips of the converts Zachariah and Samuel, it recalled to 
his mind the days of Caligula and Nero, and the Chris- 
tians of early Rome. Thus the world first learned of the 
triumph of Christ in Uganda. It was not long before 
Mwanga was restored. 



TWENTIETH SUNDA V AFTER TRINITY. 325 



Answering One's own Prayers. 

A LAD who heard his father pray for missions, and es- 
pecially for the needs of missionaries, that they might be 
supplied, and that their institutions might be amply sus- 
tained, said to him, " Father, I wish I had your money." 
" Why, my son, what would you do with it? " asked the 
father. " I would answer your prayers," was the reply. 

"Scattering yet Increasing." 

In Connecticut, a few years ago, lived a lady who had a 
beautiful flower garden, in which she took great pride. 
The whole country was proud of it, too, and people drove 
miles to see it. She fastened two large baskets on the 
outside of her fence next to the road, and every morning 
they were filled with cut flowers — the large, showy kinds 
in one basket, and the delicate, fragile ones in the other. 
All the school children going by helped themselves and 
studied the better for it, and business men took a breath 
of fragrance into their dusty offices that helped the day 
along. Even the tramps were welcome to all the beauty 
they could get in their forlorn lives. You cut such 
quantities," some one said to her; aren't you afraid you 
will rob yourself? " " The more I cut the more I have," 
she answered. " Don't you know that if plants are al- 
lowed to go to seed they stop blooming? I love to give 
pleasure, and it is profit as well, for my liberal cutting is 
the secret of my beautiful garden. I am like the man in 
* Pilgrim's Progress ': 

' A man there was (though some did count him mad), 
The more he gave away the more he had.' " 



326 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



A Parable on Religious Faiths. 

Sir Monier-Williams, the eminent oriental scholar, in 
a late address compared the adherents of the different 
religious faiths within the wide domains of Queen Vic- 
toria. On a vast plain the 350,000,000 subjects of the 
queen are assembled before her throne, and on a table^ 
near the throne are the five sacred books of the East: the 
Bible, the Vedas, the Koran, the Tripitaka, and the Zend 
Avesta. Rising from her throne the queen says: "Let 
all those who believe in the Divine inspiration of the 
Vedas take their sacred book and pass out and away." 
Two hundred millions go out, and 150,000,000 remain. 
Sadly the Christian queen again speaks : " Let those who 
believe in the Koran now leave." Her grief increases as 
60,000,000 more go out, and but 90,000,000 remain. 
Again she speaks, and again there is an exodus of those 
who believe in the Tripitaka, the sacred book of the 
Buddhist, and in the Zend Avesta, the Parsee Bible, 40,- 
000,000 more. Out of the 350,000,000 only 50,000,000 
remain who accept the Scriptures of the Old and New 
Testaments as their Bible, and only a part of these are 
heart believers in God's Book. This parable shows that 
the disciples of Jesus still have much to do before it can 
be said that the glad tidings have adequately been made 
known to every creature. It is important that the Chris- 
tian Church should comprehend the magnitude of the 
work to which she has been called by her Leader. 



The Church an Evidence. 

A CREW of sailors who, to use their own phrase, did " not 
take any stock in missions to the cannibals," by a some- 
what rough experience changed their minds. Cruising 



TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY, 327 



among one of the Pacific groups their vessel struck a reef 
and foundered. There was no alternative but to take to 
the boats and row ashore, although, according to their 
information, it was a choice between sharks and the 
natives. The part of the coast where they landed hap- 
pening to be uninhabited, they hid themselves in a hollow 
until it became necessary to procure something to eat, 
even at the risk of being eaten themselves. At length 
one of the boldest ventured to climb to the top of a hill, 
where he could look over to the populous valley beyond. 
All at once his fear-stricken companions saw him spring 
to his feet and swing his hat, shouting, Come on, boys; 
I see a church! " 

The Mouse that did not Believe in Missions. 

Once upon a time a mouse started out to seek his for- 
tune. The first thing he came to was a tall tree, up which 
he climbed, and at the top he found many large nuts. 
" Here is food," he said, " if I can only get inside." He 
soon gnawed through the rough husk, but then came to 
the hard bark of the nut. " Perseverance will overcome 
all difficulties," he said; and soon he found a small soft 
place in the bark, and he quickly pushed his way through 
it, and there before him lay a most delicious feast of milk 
and sweet white cocoanut meat. Now this mouse might 
have hurried out and told his friends and neighbours of 
the feast he had found, enough for all for many days, or 
he might have stood in the hole and handed out meat to 
his friends, who could carry it to other mice who lived at 
a distance. But our mouse did neither of these things; he 
said, " Charity begins at home," and " Look out for 
number one," and First come, first served," and some 
other proverbs that he had been careful to remember, 



328 FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



and these taught him that he would enjoy himself most 
by keeping quiet and eating it all himself. So he stayed 
inside the nut, and ate, and ate, and ate, till he had eaten 
it all up; and then he said, " I will go out and find another 
nut." But, alas! when he would go outside, he could not 
possibly squeeze through the hole, he had grown so big; 
and he could not gnaw the hard shell, so he had to stay 
inside till he died; and when the cocoanut gatherers 
came they found one nut too light to be good, and on 
cracking it open, lo! it was the tomb of the unfortunate, 
selfish mouse. Please bear in mind that this is a true 
tale. It is quite a common thing to find these empty nuts 
with nothing inside but a dead mouse. This is the way 
the poor things get there. And this is the lesson that 
they teach. We have all had an abundance of good food 
given to us, whereby our souls may grow, even the 
knowledge of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 
We may hasten to share this feast with others who do 
not know about it; we may call them together and give it 
to them, or we may send messengers abroad to carry it 
to those who live afar. Or we may do the other thing 
that the mouse did — we may keep it all for ourselves. 
But if we follow the mouse's example we shall meet with 
his terrible end. Do you know how? So soon as we go 
away by ourselves and forget our hungry brothers and 
sisters, a shell begins to grow up around us. We don't 
notice it at first, but it grows very fast and very hard ; and 
by and by, if we do not take care, it will surround us and 
shut us in a prison of selfishness, and our souls will grow 
smaller and smaller, and will be so used to thinking only 
of themselves that they will have lost the power of doing 
good, and will be as worthless in God's sight as the dead 
mouse is in the sight of the nut gatherers. 



TWENTIETH SUNDA Y AFTER TRINITY. 329 



Unsaved Alone. 

Heaven's gate is shut to him who comes alone; 
Save thou a soul and it shall save thine own." 

— Whittier. 

" First the Blade," etc. 

Small beginnings and slow progress at the first is the 
universal rule in missionary work. Henry Martyn, the 
great missionary to the East Indies, in seven years of 
work (1805-1812) only baptized one Hindu woman. 
Bishop Patteson (martyred 1871) only baptized thirteen 
natives as the result of thirteen laborious years among 
Polynesian savages. Samuel Marsden, after eleven years 
of patient work in New Zealand (1814-1825), had but one 
conversion. These were indeed years to try men's souls, 
years of patient waiting, but to-day New Zealand has a 
Christian Church of over 20,000 members, and India has 
more than 500,000; that is, as many probably as there 
were in all the world at the close of the year 100. 

" The Patience of the Saints." 

In 1849 a mission of the Church of England was estab- 
lished in China in the province of Fu-Kien, with a popu- 
lation of twenty millions. In 1856 the first missionary 
died, not having made a single convert. In 1857 another 
missionary dies; still no convert. In 1861, at last there 
are three converts. In 1863 another missionary dies. In 
1865 there were 35 converts; in 1868, 227; in 1877, 2,323; 
in 1893, 10,323. 



TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY AFTER 
TRINITY. 



THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS. 

The Church in Paradise and on Earth is one. 

A PROCESSION is one, though part be out in the cold 
Christmas night and part in the beautifully lighted 
church. An army is one army in crossing a river, though 
part be on one side and part on the other. 

The Communion of Saints on Earth. 

How striking is the story told of that Royal saint, S. 
Elizabeth of Hungary, who lived in those proud feudal 
days, when the noble was so tempted to look with con- 
tempt on all beneath. On one occasion she found a 
miserable leper lying helpless on the stairs of her castle, 
and she, with much ef¥ort, raised the unhappy being in 
her arms, bore him into the palace, and there tended him 
with devoted care. Surely between the young and beau- 
tiful princess and the suffering leper whom she tended for 
the Saviour's sake, there was a communion of saints. 



"He Calleth them all by their Names." 

You know what the milky way " is. It seems to the 
naked eye like one indistinguishable mass of light, or at 



332 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



most it looks like a path of Stardust. Yet when the milky 
way is examined through a powerful telescope it is seen 
that each grain of this " dust " is a separate star, just as 
truly so as any other star in the sky. To us all are 
blended together, but God telleth the number of the 
stars, and calleth them all by their names " (Psalm 
cxlvii. 4). So our blessed Lord knows each saint, no 
matter how. poor or lowly or unknown. He calleth His 
own sheep by name." 

Our Home in Paradise. 

" I SAW three years ago a great ship come into port from 
across the ocean. We waited for her long, but nothing 
could be seen; mist lay on the waters, hiding the distance 
from view. At length, close at hand, the vast hull ap- 
peared; light foam rippled under the bows; the sun broke 
forth, the black sides shone in the light, and we saw on 
deck those whom our hearts loved, their eyes fixed on iS, 
their hands extended in recognition. Thus may we 
also, who are still out on the waves of this troublesome 
world, come home at last; and thus may we see those 
who have gone before waiting for us on the peaceful 
shore of Paradise." — Morgan Dix. 

" Members one of another." 

Dr. Halbeck, a missionary of the Church of England in 
the south of Africa, from the top of a neighbouring hill 
saw lepers at work. He noticed two particularly, sowing 
peas in a field. One had no hands; the other had no feet, 
tnese members being wasted away by disease. The 
one who wanted the hands was carrying the other, who 
wanted the feet, upon his back; and he again carried the 



TWENTY-FIRST SUNDA V AFTER TRINITY. 333 



bag of seed, and dropped a pea every now and then, 
which the other pressed into the ground with his feet: 
and so they managed the work of one man between the 
two. Such should be the true union of the members of 
Christ's body, in which all the members should have the 
same care one for another. 

" Bear ye one another's Burdens." 

According to a writer in Nature, the small, migra- 
tory birds that are unable to perform the flight of 350 
miles across the Mediterranean sea, are carried over on 
the backs of cranes. In the autumn many flocks of the 
latter may be seen going from the north with the first 
cold blasts from that quarter, flying low and uttering a 
peculiar cry, as if of alarm, as they sweep over the cul- 
tivated plains. Little birds of every species may then be 
seen flying up to them, while the twittering songs of 
those already comfortably settled upon their backs may 
be distinctly heard. But for this kind provision of Na- 
ture numerous varieties of small birds would become ex- 
tinct in northern countries, as the cold winters would kill 
them. What a lesson there \z in this, as to how the 
strong may help the weak through the vicissitudes of 
adversity. 

" Love as Brethren.'* 

There is a charming tradition connected with the site on 
which Solomon's Temple was erected. It is said to have 
been occupied in common by two brothers, one of whom 
had a family; the other had none. On the spot was a 
field of wheat. On the evening succeeding the harvest, 
the wheat having been gathered in shocks, the elder 



334 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



brother said to his wife: " My younger brother is un- 
able to bear the burden and heat of the day; I will arise, 
take of my shocks and place them with his, without his 
knowledge." The brother being actuated by the same 
benevolent motives, said within himself: " My elder 
brother has a family and I have none; I will contribute 
to their support; I will arise, take of my shocks and place 
them with his without his knowledge." Judge of their 
mutual astonishment when on the following morning 
they found their respective shocks undiminished. This 
course of events occurred for several nights, when each 
resolved in his own mind to stand guard and solve the 
mystery. They did so when, on the following night, 
they met each other half way between their respective 
shocks with their arms full. Upon ground hallowed by 
such associations as this was the Temple of King Solo- 
mon erected — so spacious, so magnificent, the wonder 
and admiration of the world. 



No Man Liveth to himself." 

There is an old story of one who was taken as a passen- 
ger on board a ship, and when the vessel was in mid- 
ocean, the sailors discovered that the passenger was busy 
making a hole deep in the ship's side. When they spoke 
of the madness and wickedness of his act, the man an- 
swered. How does it concern you? I have made the 
hole directly under my own berth." He never con- 
sidered that in destroying his own life he would sacri- 
fice the lives of all in the vessel. So is it with every wil- 
ful act of sin. Every bad word uttered poisons some 
other soul. Every angry passion indulged in does harm 
to some one else besides the sinner. 



TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 335 



Home, Sweet Home." 

During the American Civil War the two rival armies 
were encamped opposite each other on the banks of the 
Potomac River. When the Federal bands played some 
national air of the Union, the Confederate musicians 
struck up a rival tune, each band trying to out-play and 
silence the other. Suddenly one of the bands played 
" Home, Sweet Home," and the contest ceased. The 
musicians of both armies played the same tune, voices 
from opposite sides of the river joined the chorus, 
"There's no place like home!" How ought not the 
thought of an everlastinsf Home to make all Christians 
be of one heart and mind! 



TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY AFTER 
TRINITY. 



THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS. 

{See also the Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity.) 

The Ever-open Door. 

The daughter of a poor Highland widow had wandered 
from her home, into one of the cities of Scotland, and 
was leading there a life of sin. The mother went after 
her lost one, who repented, and was coming home. But 
temptation assailed her on the way, and she returned 
to her old haunts. The desolate mother went back to 
her cottage alone; and yet she was not alone, for she 
called upon the widow's God. He was entreated of her. 
As she sat by the fire one sleepless night, she heard a 
footfall on the floor. She turned at the sound; it was 
her repentant child. The first glad surprise and full con- 
fession over: " How came it, mother," said the daughter, 
" that at this dead and lonely hour, I found the latch of 
the cottage open? " " The latch has never been shut day 
or night since you left me," ^:as the mother's answer; 
" I feared that if you came and found it shut, you might 
turn away for ever." So, while life lasts, God's door is 
ever on the latch, ready to be opened by the penitent sin- 
ner. 



TWENTY-SECOND SUNDA V AFTER TRINITY. 337 



Confession of Sin. 

A VERY learned man once said, The three hardest 
words in the EngHsh language are, ' I was mistaken! ' " 
Frederick the Great, the King of Prussia, once wrote to 
the Senate, " I have lost a great battle, and it was entirely 
my own fault." That confession showed more greatness 
than all his victories. 

" I Believe in the Forgiveness of Sins." 

There is an anecdote told of a young monk who was in 
the utmost distress of mind about his sins, when an aged 
priest gave him comfort by reminding him of what he 
daily professed to believe, in the recitation of the creed, 
" The forgiveness of sins! " Often had he used the words, 
little had he realised their meaning ! 

" I will Forgive." 

A SETTLER in South Africa, who lived some distance up 
the country, one day found a native lurking about his 
stable. He accused the man of trying to steal a horse. 
The captive reiterated his innocence, and explained that 
he was making home to his kraal. Despite his frantic 
struggles and efforts to escape, the poor Kaffir was 
dragged to a tree, and there, with one blow of an axe, 
his right hand was severed from the wrist. It was about 
three months after this tragic event that the settler found 
himself benighted while still far away from his home. 
He came to a Kaffir hut and asked admission. A tall 
native desired him to enter, and food was placed before 
him. Next morning when he rose to depart, his host 
confronted him, and holding up his right arm asked the 
22 



338 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



white man if he knew it. The squatter turned pale — the 
hand was gone! He knew that he had been at the mercy 
of the man he had treated so cruehy. The Kaffir con- 
tinued: "You were in my power. I could have killed 
you. Revenge said, ' Kill the man who has maimed you 
for life,' but I replied, ' No; I am a Christian, and I will 
forgive.' " 

Whosesoever Sins ye Remit." 

It is quite true that God only can forgive sins, but how 
does He forgive? Ordinarily by the mouth of His 
Church, by the words of His ministers to whom He has 
given express authority for this very purpose. God uses 
the Priest as His mouthpiece. The forgiveness is God's 
but it is pronounced by man. Suppose that a man is 
sentenced to death in England. No one but the Queen 
has the power to grant him life. But that pardon does 
not come from the Queen directly. It comes through 
the Home Secretary. It is the Queen's pardon indeed, 
for no one else can pardon, but it is pronounced by one 
of her ministers. 

Archbishop Laud and his Persecutors. 

It is most touching to read the record of the last hours 
of the martyr, Archbishop Laud, and the noble words of 
his prayer on the scaffold for his persecutors. He 
prayed, Lord, pardon them all, and those especially 
who have drawn down this present judgment upon me; " 
and in his dying speech he concluded, I forgive all the 
world, all and every one of those bitter enemies which 
have persecuted me." And seeing through a chink in 
the boards of the scaffold that some persons were stand- 
ing under the place where the block was fixed, he re- 



TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 339 

quested the officer in attendance either to stop the crev- 
ices with dust, or remove the people thence, for it was not 
his wish " that his blood should fall on the heads of the 
people," no doubt remembering the Scripture words on 
the subject, lest it should happen to their condemnation; 
and putting some money into the hands of the heads- 
man, he said, Here, honest friend, God forgive thee, 
and I do!" 



FOURTH SUNDAY BEFORE 
ADVENT. 



{Also for Third Sunday after Epiphany.) 

BAPTISM— THE OUTWARD SIGN; THE 
INWARD GRACE. 

{See also First Sunday after Easter^ 

"Wash away thy Sins." 

" We have some little difficulty," said a scientific lecturer, 
" with the iron dyes; but the most troublesome of all are 
Turkey-red rags. You see I have dipped this into my 
solution; its red is paler, but it is still strong. If I steep 
it long enough to efface the colour entirely, the fibre will 
be destroyed; it will be useless for our manufacture. 
How, then, are we to dispose of our red rags? We leave 
their indelible dye as it is, and make them into red blot- 
ting-paper. Perhaps you have wondered why your writ- 
ing-pad is red. Now you know the reason." What a 
striking illustration of the fitness and force of this figure 
of God's Word, and of the power of " the precious blood 
of Christ " to change and cleanse, is furnished by the 
above explanation. The Spirit of God led the prophet 
Isaiah to write, not Though your sins be as blue as the 
sky, or as screen as the olive-leaf, or as black as night." 
He chose the very colour which modern science with all 



FOURTH SUNDAY BEFORE ADVENT. 



its appliances finds to be indestructible. " Though your 
sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though 
they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." 

" Grafted into the Body of Christ's Church." 

The gardener takes his slips to the tree or stock on 
which he intends to engraft them, and having made an 
incision in the proper places, he carefully inserts the 
grafts into the stock and binds them close, that they may 
not be shaken by the wind, and that the wounded parts 
may be protected from the sun and rain. This is the first 
thing necessary; the next is that they should take hold of 
the stock. The slips may be injured and die; or they 
may not, from some cause or other, receive sap from the 
root: but when we see them bud, then we know that they 
are really united to the tree. Apply this to the sacra- 
ments as they are means of uniting us to Christ; in the 
first case we have the outward sign, in the second the 
proof of inward grace. 

Baptism a Seed of Life. 

Baptism is but a germ or seed. It is like the seed that 
you sow in the garden. That seed is neither fruit nor 
flower, but it contains within it the possibility of both. 
The seed may indeed die from frost, or excessive heat, or 
lack of care. But one thing is certain, that unless you 
sow this seed, you never can have either flower or fruit. 

"Put off the Old, Put on the New." 

The man who desires to enter the army, is first stripped 
. and examined. Then, if accepted, he is dressed in a new 



342 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES, 



uniform, and forsakes his former clothing. So the sol- 
diers of Christ must strip. The old garment of sin must 
be laid aside, and " the wedding garment " of righteous- 
ness put on. 



THIRD SUNDAY BEFORE ADVENT. 

(Also for Fourth Sunday after Epiphany.) 

THE MEMORIAL IN THE EUCHARIST. 

{See also Palm Sunday^ 

Emblem of Christ's Intercession. 

About the year 1350 Edward III. of England invaded 
France with thirty thousand men, and at the battle of 
Crecy defeated Philip, who was at the head of the French 
army. After the battle Edward besieged the city of 
Calais, which, after an obstinate resistance of a year, 
was taken by the English king. He offered to spare the 
lives of the inhabitants on condition that six of their 
principal citizens should be delivered up to him, with hal- 
ters round their necks, to be immediately executed. 
When these terms were announced in the city there was 
consternation on every countenance. The rulers of the 
town came together, and the question was publicly pro- 
posed. " Who will offer himself as an atonement for the 
city? " There was silence in the assembly. The form in 
which the question was put suggested another, which, 
after the lapse of a few moments, fell from the same lips: 
" Who will imitate Christ, who gave Himself for the sal- 
vation of men? " Eustace St. Pierre, the commander of 
the town, immediately stepped forward and said, I will 

1 



344 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



lay down my life for your sakes. I do it freely — cheer- 
fully. Who is the next one? " " Your son," cried a 
young man, not yet arrived at manhood. " Who next? " 
Another and another quickly offered, until the whole 
number was made up. They started for the English 
camp. Their families and fellow-citizens clung around 
them, groaning and weeping until the noise was heard in 
the opposite army. On reaching it they were received 
by the soldiers of Edward with every mark of commis- 
eration and friendship. They appeared before the king. 
"Are these the principal inhabitants of Calais?" he in- 
quired sternly. Of France, my lord," they replied. 
" Lead them to execution." At this moment a shout of 
triumph was heard in the camp. The queen had just 
arrived. She was immediately informed of the punish- 
ment about to be inflicted on the six victims. Hastening 
to the king she pleaded for their pardon. At first he 
sternly refused to grant it but her earnestness conquered 
and the king yielded. What a forcible illustration is this 
of the intercession of our Lord Jesus Christ! God's only 
Son can never plead in vain. But Jesus has done more 
than the Queen of England ever did for the captives of 
Calais. He gave Himself. He shed His blood to save 
us. It is this sacrifice we plead every time we celebrate 
the Holy Eucharist. And He is ever pleading the same 
in Heaven. 

"He Gave Himself for me." 

" A NATURALIST has told us the sweet pathetic tragedy 
of a piece of English gorse. The gorse was set. fire to. 
The fire swept on fast, until it came to a linnet's nest. 
And the naturalist found covering the little brood, which 
were saved from the storm of fire that swept over them, 



THIRD SUNDAY BEFORE ADVENT. 



345 



a small black and blasted skeleton, which might have 
been a coloured and winged song under the blue sky 
had she not been ' faithful unto death.' Small but beauti- 
ful picture of the love of Him who gave Himself for us! " 
— Archbishop Alexander. 

A Brother's Intercession. 

Once among the old Greeks there was a man named 
^schylus, and he was condemned to death, and was 
going to be led to execution. But he had a brother 
named Amyntas, who had gained victories for Greece, 
and in one battle had lost his hand. Just as ^schylus 
was going forth to die, Amyntas entered the court, and 
without saying a word to the judges, he held up on high 
the arm which had no longer a hand. Then the judges 
remembered his service, and pardoned his brother. And 
the Lord Jesus is our Brother. He also is ever holding 
up those wounded hands, pleading for us in Heaven, 
and here on the altar on earth his priest holds up before 
God and pleads that same wounded Body under the sac- 
ramental signs of Bread and Wine. 

The Eucharistic Sacrifice. 

Notice how the Bread and Wine, apart from their con- 
secration, are each, as substances, eminently typical of 
the suffering of Christ's sacrifice. The wheat in grow- 
ing is subjected to, and often overcome by, wind and 
storm; it is cut down, threshed, winnowed, ground, 
sifted by violent shaking, kneaded, and lastly subjected 
to fire. Grapes are pressed, their juice is fermented and 
refined. 



SECOND SUNDAY BEFORE 
ADVENT. 



(A/so for Fifth Sunday after Epiphany 
COMMUNION IN THE EUCHARIST. 

" The Bread of Life." 

A FRIEND of mine was coming home from Australia 
when the ship took fire. He escaped in a small boat, 
with some of the crew, while the rest took refuge in a 
larger one. Into the larger boat were cast a number of 
cases of bacon. By some strange accident into the 
smaller boat were put a large number of cases of solid 
gold, by way of ballast. But more were put in than 
ought to have been put in. Night drew on. The proba- 
bility was that by morning the boats would have lost 
sight of each other. Those in the smaller boat looked 
over their stock of provisions. To their horror they 
found they had a great many cases of gold, but very few 
cases of bacon. My friend said he never should forget 
the moment when two lusty sailors lifted up a case of 
solid bullion, and shouted out across the water, to those 
v^ho were in the other boat: Ten thousand pounds for 
one case of bacon." The gold was not suited to their 
wants, and the bacon was. The bacon meant life and 
preservation; the gold starvation. Even so, the profit 



348 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



that comes in this world, being not suited to thy spiritual 
nature, can no more satisfy thee than gold those hungry 
men; and, therefore, if thou desirest anything like satis- 
faction, thou must lift thine eyes higher, to where Christ 
says, " I am the Bread of Life. He that cometh to Me 
shall never hunger, and he that believeth on Me shall 
never thirst." 

Parable of the Magnet. 

Take a bar of steel, and rub it with a loadstone. You 
perceive no change. Measure it, test it, examine it 
with a microscope ; to all outward appearance it is simply 
a bar of steel, exactly what it was before. But it is 
changed; it has now " become " a magnet. The mag- 
netic power exists in, with, and under the steel; it is 
" really present " under the species of steel. You know 
this only by its efifects. It attracts and it repels; it points 
ever to the north; it dips with one end to the horizon, 
and elevates with the other above it. It also imparts its 
own mysterious virtue to those bodies which it attracts. 
So does our Lord make this sacrament the test for attrac- 
tion and repulsion to men's hearts (S. John vi. 54; viii. 
30). It ever points to God; it dips to earth, and elevates 
to heaven; it imparts its properties to those whom it at- 
tracts; and it makes them like Christ. No one can say 
of it that "it represents a magnet," for it is a magnet; 
for the same reason no one can say that it is not really a 
magnet, but that it virtually acts as such, when it comes 
in contact with such bodies as are af¥ected by it; again, 
no one can say that the steel is transubstantiated into a 
magnet, so that it is no longer steel; nor, again, that 
there is any confusion of the properties of the steel with 
those of the magnet, as in consubstantiation, where the 



SECOND SUNDAY BEFORE ADVENT. 



349 



spiritual substance is supposed to be confused with the 
material. All we do know is that the steel, without ceas- 
ing to be steel, is a magnet; and in like manner we be- 
lieve and confess that Christ is in His sacrament by the 
operation of the Holy Ghost, provided there be bread 
and wine and an apostolic priest, duly commissioned by 
Christ to bless in His Name, and to say the words of In- 
stitution. 

The Cost of the Cup of Christ. 

Cleopatra put in her cup a jewel, which contained the 
price of a kingdom: this sacred cup we are to drink of, 
enriched with the Blood of God, is above the price of a 
kingdom. 

Early Celebration. 

An ignorant person was once asking about the early 
Celebration of Holy Communion, and she called it the 
early Separation. Surely that chance word is full of 
meaning. That Blessed Sacrament is the sign of separa- 
tion of the believing from the faithless, just as it is the 
union of all the faithful in the One Body of Christ. 

Napoleon's Happiest Day. 

Napoleon I. had almost everything the world could 
give him — kingdoms and armies, and riches and power. 
Yet when he had them all, and millions of people were 
ready to do his bidding, he was asked by a friend, " What 
was the happiest day of your life? " They expected he 
would speak of one of his great victories, but he did not. 
*' The happiest day of my life," he said slowly, with a far- 
of¥ look that grew softer as he spoke, " the happiest 
day of my life was when, as a lad, I took my first Com- 



350 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



munion." Yes, he was near Jesus then — very near Him 
— and he saw the glory, and therefore he was very, very 
happy. Alas! he went down and down from that moun- 
tain-top, and he gained a great many things, but he lost 
his happiness, for no soul can be happy that goes away 
from Jesus. 

The Need of Constant Communion. 

We were at the foot of Mt. Blanc, in the village of Cha- 
mouni. A sad thing had happened the day before we 
reached the village. A young physician, of Boston, had 
determined to reach the heights of Mt. Blanc. He ac- 
compHshed the feat, and the little village was illuminated 
in his honour; the flag was flying from the little hut on 
the mountain side — that all who have visited Chamouni 
well remember — that told of his victory. But after he 
had ascended and descended in safety, as far as the hut, 
he wanted then to be relieved from his guide; he wanted 
to be free from the rope, and he insisted that he could go 
alone. The guide remonstrated with him, told him it 
was not safe, but he was tired of the rope and declared he 
would be free of it. The guide had to yield. The young 
man had only gone a short distance when his foot slipped 
on the ice and he could not stop himself from sliding 
down the inclined icy steeps. The rope v/as gone, so the 
guide could not hold him or pull him back. And out on 
a shelving piece of ice lay the dead body of the young 
physician, as it was pointed out to me. The bells had 
been rung, the village illuminated in honour of his suc- 
cess, but, alas, in a fatal moment he refused to be guided; 
he was tired of the rope. Do we not get tired of the 
rope? God's providences hold us, restrain us, and we 
get tired sometimes. We need a guide, and shall till the 



SECOND SUNDAY BEFORE ADVENT. 



351 



dangerous paths are over. Never get disengaged from 
your Guide; let your prayer be, Lead Thou me on," 
and sometime the bells of heaven will ring that you are 
safe at home ! 

The Power of Christ in Holy Communion. 

Lord Chatham once exclaimed, " Impossibilities, I 
trample upon imj)ossibilities! " When Napoleon was told 
that the Alps stood in the way of his army, he answered, 
" There shall be no Alps," and so the Simplon Pass was 
made for his march into Italy. But it is the Christian 
who feeds on Christ at His altar continually who can say 
with greatest truth, I can do all things through Christ 
which strengtheneth me." 

" As Doves to their Windows." 

One of the old prophets, who lived seven hundred years 
before Christ, foresaw how, when Christ came, people of 
every land would crowd to His Church and its altar ''as 
doves to their windows'' (Is. Ix. 7, 8.) Perhaps what I 
am going to tell you may explain what Isaiah meant by 
this. If you should ever go to Venice, you must not fail 
to visit the great square of San Marco, so called after a 
magnificent cathedral built there many centuries ago. 
But it is not the cathedral that I am going to speak of 
now. You must be sure to be on the square a few min- 
utes before twelve at mid-day. You will then see clouds 
of beautiful doves flying from all quarters of the city, and 
lighting on the eaves of the houses, on the domes of the 
old church, and indeed on every spot where a resting 
place can be found. They seem to be waiting for some- 
thing, and so they are, for long habit and instinct teaches 



352 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



them to be there at that time. As the great clock tolls 
the hour, a window opens and a hand is stretched out, 
scattering grain on the pavement beneath. In a second 
almost, down sweep all the doves, each one trying to get 
more than his share. The air seems darkened with them, 
and there is such a fluttering and haste as never was. 
But they need not be in such a hurry, for the grain is 
thrown out again and again, till all are satisfied. Some 
years ago, a rich lady of the city died, and left a piece of 
ground to be cultivated for the birds. So they have their 
own farm, which cannot be taken away from them. 
And we Christians are the doves that Isaiah foresaw. 
We too have a rich legacy left to us. Christ died in order 
to give it to us. That legacy is the Holy Communion. 
But when the time for Holy Communion comes do wc 
" fly as doves to their windows "? Are we as eager and 
as prompt as they? Should we not be so? " Labour not 
for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which 
endureth unto everlasting life." 

The Grace of Holy Communion. 

A YOUNG man came one day to S. Philip Neri, entreat- 
ing him to help him in getting rid of a sinful habit, of 
which he had long been the slave. The saint comforted 
him; gave him wdse counsel; and having listened to his 
humble confession, sent him away absolved and happy. 
" Receive the Holy Communion to-morrow," he said, 
" and if it should happen that you fall again — from which 
God defend you — come to me at once, and trust in the 
goodness of God." The very next evening, the poor 
young man had to return, and with tears confess that he 
had fallen once more. The kind saint raised him up, en- 
couraged him, gave him absolution, and bid him, as 



SECOND SUNDAY BEFORE ADVENT. 353 

before, go next morning to receive the Body and Blood 
of his Lord. The youth, struggUng on one side with the 
power of the evil habit, and on the other with his desire 
to return to God, found in these frequent Communions 
a source of such vigorous energy, that he returned thir- 
teen days running to the saint, who was as unflagging 
in his kindness as the young man was in his efforts. 
Grace at length prevailed; and Jesus reckoned in His 
ranks another faithful servant, who, in a short time, made 
such progress in holiness that he was judged worthy of 
the priesthood; and, having edified his native city with 
his virtues, died, while still young, the death of a saint. 

All Equal at the Altar. 

It is related of the Duke of W ellington, that once, when 
he remained to take the sacrament at his parish church, 
a very poor old man went up the opposite aisle, and, 
reaching the altar rail, knelt down close by the side of the 
Duke. Some one (probably a pew-opener) came and 
touched the poor man on the shoulder, and whispered to 
him to move farther away, or to rise, and wait until the 
Duke had received. But the eagle eye and the quick ear 
of the great commander caught the meaning of that 
touch and that whisper. He clasped the old man's hand, 
and held him, to prevent his rising; and in a reverential 
undertone, but most distinctly, said, Do not move: we 
are all equal here." 
23 



SUNDAY NEXT BEFORE ADVENT. 



THE BENEFITS OF HOLY COMMUNION, 
AND WHAT IS REQUIRED. 

Christ our Refuge. 

On the coast of Northumberland there is a piece of land 
which twice in the day is an island, and twice in the day is 
a continent. That sounds odd, but it is the work of the 
tide. Holy Island, for that is its name, is twice a day 
surrounded by the sea, and then of course it is an island; 
and twice a day the sea goes back and leaves three miles 
of good, firm dry sand, joining the island to the shore. 
You can then walk to the island on dry ground. But 
here and there along this strip of sand are strange look- 
ing structures like sentry boxes on poles, with steps lead- 
ing up to them. These are placed all the way between 
the island and the shore, about 200 yards apart, and they 
are called " refuges." Now why do you think they need 
these refuges? The reason is that when the tide rises, 
it comes in very rapidly, and if any one is caught by it he 
is likely to be drowned unless he can make for one of 
these refuges. Not long ago some people, instead of 
keeping close to the track beside the refuges, took a road 
of their own from the island, and the sea came rushing 
up, and they were drowned, because they could not reach 
a refuge in time. That track is the way of your Com- 



356 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



munions. Your path is studded with them. Only there 
are you safe, for Christ comes to you in them. " Other 
refuge have I none." 

The Power of Repentance. 

I HAVE read of a hospital chaplain who ministered for 
a long time to a sick man, and seemed to make no im- 
pression on him. One night the chaplain went to bed, 
weary and dispirited with his failure, and dreamed a 
dream. He thought he saw the sick man standing before 
the judgment seat of Christ. The angel of justice cast 
all his many sins into one scale, and there was nothing 
in the other. Suddenly another angel came flying to 
the scene, and cast into the scale of mercy a handkerchief 
wet with tears. In an instant the scale of merc}? out- 
weighed that of justice. Next day the chaplain hastened 
to the hospital to find the man dead, and beneath his 
pillow a handkerchief wet with tears. 

One Gate of Entrance. 

It is said there was but one gate in ancient Troy by 
which men might enter or leave the city. So there is but 
one way to escape for us now, through the door which 
Jesus opens for us. " Behold," He says, I set before 
you an open door." That door is repentance, and Christ 
has opened it by the shedding of His Blood on the Cross. 

The Need of Constant Effort. 

A FRIEND called on Michael Angelo, and found him 
finishing a statue. Some time afterwards he called again, 
and the sculptor was still at his work. Looking at the 



SUNDAY NEXT BEFORE ADVENT, 



figure, his friend exclaimed, " You have been idle since I 
last saw you." " By no means," said the sculptor, " I 
have retouched this part and polished that. I have soft- 
ened this feature, and brought out this muscle; and I 
have given more expression to this lip, and energy to this 
limb." " Well, well," said his friend, but all these are 
trifles." It may be so," said Angelo, but recollect 
that trifles make perfection, and perfection is no trifle." 
It is daily self-examination and constant Communion 
that can alone produce true Christlikeness. 

Danger of Neglecting Self-examination. 

How the world was agape recently when it came out 
that a neglected handful of some foreign aquatic seed, 
dropped into one of our great canals, had grown and 
grow^n and multiplied, until miles were being choked up 
with the pestiferous weed! And yet we will not see that 
" small sins " have this very principle of growth and in- 
crease. 

" Snuff your Candles." 

Not long ago I went over the old Eddystone Light- 
house, which has been taken from the sea and built up 
on Plymouth Hoe. Up at the top of the lighthouse is 
the lantern with the old candlesticks which were used 
before improved lamps, or gas, or electric lights were 
thought of. In one of the chambers is a curious clock, 
which was given by Smeaton, the builder of the light- 
house, and which struck every half-hour, to remind the 
keepers to snuff their candles. If you want to give a clear, 
pure light, you must watch yourselves. You must ex- 
amine yourselves. You must take care to snuff your 
candles. 



358 FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 

Importance of Self-examination. 

Merchants take copper coins without ringing them. 
Not so gold ones. These they always ring to see if they 
sound clear and true, showing that they are genuine, not 
lead gilded or a thin outer surface of gold filled with 
lead. And our souls are far more valuable than all the 
gold coins in the world. We should not think they will 
pass with God without our trying them. 

Penitence. 

It has been beautifully said that the pearls upon the gates 
of Paradise are the tears of penitents. The entrance into 
the heavenly city is through penitential sorrows into 
eternal joys. 

" O Cleanse Thou me from my Secret Faults." 

Chemists tell us that a single grain of the substance 
called iodine will impart colour to seven thousand times 
its weight of water. It is so in higher things : one weak- 
ness, one habit, may influence the whole of life and char- 
acter. " Let a man examine himself." 

Benefits of Holy Communion. 

There was a poor woman in a Black Country town, 
whose religion brought down upon her much persecu- 
tion from her husband. But by degrees her gentleness, 
and her perseverance in her duties, in spite of his cruelty, 
softened his heart, and he began to go with her to church, 
and to be interested in religion. One day he was ques- 
tioning her about the Holy Communion. I wish," he 
said, " you would explain it to me. What is it that you 
go for? " " I can't explain it to you," she replied, but 



SUNDAY NEXT BEFORE ADVENT. 359 



I can tell you this about it — we goes up empty and we 
comes dozvn fidl.'' Simple but beautiful words! ''In 
Thy presence is the fulness of joy, and at Thy right hand 
there is pleasure for evermore." 

Constant Self-examination. 

In the old Greek stories Hercules is the very strong man. 
One hard thing that was given him to do was to clean 
out the stable of King Augeas, which had never been 
cleansed in the memory of man. Hercules performed 
this task by turning aside a river out of its course, and 
carrying it through the stable. If we do not watch our 
lives and our tempers by preparing constantly for Holy 
Communion, they will become as foul as the Augean 
stable. 

Need of Constant Repair. 

The great Cathedral of Cologne was begun in a.d. 
1270. Work was carried on for 250 years, and the beau- 
tiful design was not finished. At the reformation in the 
beginning of the i6th century the work had to stop en- 
tirely, but the builders left a crane or derrick on one of 
the towers as a constant reminder to the people of its un- 
finished state. For 300 years this silent witness stood 
through summer and winter, sunshine and storm. When 
the crane perished from age or weather, a new one was 
always reared in its place, and so the witness was always 
there. At length, a few years ago, the church was com- 
pleted and solemnly consecrated to God amid great re- 
joicing, but even to-day work still goes on. When the 
sound of the chisel died away decay had already begun, 
and the work of repair had to commence. So must it be 
also in the life of the Christian. 



36o 



FIVE HUNDRED STORIES. 



Penitence must be Entire. 

A MERCHANT in Bremen lately received a letter from a 
man who confessed that he had robbed him of a thousand 
marks some years before. The man enclosed one hun- 
dred marks in part payment, saying that his conscience 
had troubled him of late, and that he would send some 
more money if he found his conscience kept on troubling 
him! 

The Holy Grail. 

There is an old legend about S. Joseph of Arimathea, 
the rich councillor, in whose garden the body of the Lord 
Jesus was buried. We know from Holy Scripture that 
Joseph asked Pilate to let him take down the body of 
Christ from the cross, but the legend has it that he also 
asked Pilate to be allowed to go to the upper room and 
get the vessel from which our Lord ate the Passover 
with His disciples. This vessel, which is called the " Holy 
Grail," Joseph took to the cross, and there he received 
into it many drops of blood which issued from the still 
open wounds in Christ's feet and hands and side. The 
story goes on to tell us that when Joseph was put in 
prison without food, the Holy Grail supported his life for 
many years, and that he brought the vessel with him 
when he came to England to preach the gospel, and set 
up the Church there. This is only a legend or story, but 
there is a great truth at the bottom of it all. The chalice 
or cup for Holy Communion in every one of our 
churches is the real Holy Grail that brings to us the true 
blood of the Lord Jesus which is " verily and indeed," 
though spiritually, " taken and received by the faithful " 
in that holy sacrament. 



i 



INDEX. 



Abbotsford, 174. 
Abraham, 250, 315. 
Acorns, Sowed with, 34. 
^schylus, 138, 345, 
Aidan, S., 289, 290. 
Alban, S., 281. 
Alexander, Archbp. , 345. 
Alexander the Great, 12, 26, 59, 129, 

220, 228. 
Alexandria, 170, 220, 269, 271. 
Alfred, King, 218. 
Algonquin, 172. 
Alison, 168. 

"Alleluia" Victory, 282. 
Almighty God, 88-94. 
"Almost Lost," 80. 
Alps, 351. 

Ambrose, S., 274, 276. 
Amen, 238. 

American Church, 172, 303-311, 
313, 314. 

American Civil War, 106, no, 313, 
335- 

American Hammer Maker, 20. 
American Independence, 192. 
Angelo, Michael, 2, 70, 356. 
Angels, 70, 159, 195, 234, 244- 

246, 315- 
Angles, 283. 

Animals, Kindness to, 197, 199. 
Antioch, 263, 273, 275. 



Apostolic Succession, 316. 
Aram, Eugene, 196. 
Aristotle, 220. 
Arius, 269, 272. 
Ark, 135. 
Arrows, 232, 236. 
Arsenius, 271. 
Ashamed, Not, 21. 
Ass, The Devil an, 54. 
Athanasius, S., 61, 270, 272. 
Augustine of Canterbury, S., 170, 
284, 286. 

Augustine of Hippo, S., 23, 126, 

136, 159, 276. 
Aust, 287. 

Austria, Anne of, 11. 
Austrian Standard-bearer, 31. 
Authority of Ministry, 315, 

Babylon, 51, 
Bacchus, 60. 
Balaklava, 100, 148. 
Bangor, 288. 

Baptism, 18, 36, 120, 340, 341. 
Baptism of Fire, 151. 
Barnacles, 65. 
Baring-Gould, 240. 
Barley-field, 194. 
Basil, S., 39. 
Becket, Thomas k, 70. 
Bede or Beda, 238, 289, 292. 



364 



INDEX. 



Bees, 79. 
Belief, 84. 
Bell-rope, 233. 
Bells, 157. 

Benedict Biscop, 293, 
Benson, Archbp., 3. 
Bertha, Queen, 284. 
" Best, The," 20. 
Bible, 85, 297. 

Birds, 99, 143, 204, 230, 232, 235, 

333, 344, 351." 
Birkenhead^ Wreck of, 32. 
Birth, New, 120, 125. 
Bishops, 264, 311, 316. 
Black Country, 20, 358. 
Blasphemy, 174. 
Blind Asylum, 2. 
Body, see Resurrection. 
Borromeo, Carlo, 9. 
Bowing at the Holy Name, 176, 178, 

272. 

Boy with Recommendation, 189. 
Branches, 17, 19. 
Brazil, 61. 

" Bread of Life," 347. 
Britain, 281, 283, 287. 
Bruce, Sir William, 79. 
Bucket, 224. 
Buddha, loi, 127, 171. 
Buford, General, 314. 
Burmah, Emperor of, 160. 
*' Burning our Boats," 69. 
Burning the Bushel, 206. 
Butterfly, 112, 202. 
Byron, 177. 

Cabot, John, 303. 
Cable-worm, 203. 
Caerleon-on-Usk, 288. 



Calais, 40, 343. 
Calcutta, Bp. of, 171. 
California, 303, 
Calling the Roll, 14. 
Camel, 51. 

Campbell, Sir Colin, 80. 
Candles, 8, 266, 357. 
Cannibals, 320, 326. 
Canterbury, 285, 292, 294, 308, 
" Captain," 38. 
Carthage, 214, 267. 
Cassabianca, 190. 
Catacombs, 265. 
Caterpillar, 112, 202. 
Cecilia, S., 136. 
Cemeteries, 116. 
Cerinthus, 262. 
Chamouni, 350. 
Charter, Great, 294. 
Chatham, Lord, 351. 
Chaucer, 85. 
Chess, 9. 

" Children, Become as," 34. 
Children, Murder of, 171. 
Children of God, 38-42. 
"Child shall Lead," 33. 
China, 171, 320, 329. 
Christ, 1-5, 23-27. 
Christianus sum, 265. 
Chrysostom, S., 146, 273. 
Church-building, 9, 314. 
Church Principles, 313-317. 
Cicero, 41. 
Ciudad Rodrigo, 75. 
Clean Hands, 207. 
Clean Hearts, 201. 
Cleopatra, 349. 
Clock, 152, 183, 222. 
Coleridge, 35. 



INDEX. 



365 



Cologne, 234, 359. 

Colosseum, 2, 5. 

Columba, S., 286, 301, 

Columbus, 146, 303, 321. 

Commandments, 164-168. 

Communion, 347, 349, 350. 

Communion of Saints, 331-335. 

Compass, 83, 157, 165, 

Confession of Wrong, 248. 

Confirmation, 72-80. 

Confucius, loi. 

Connecticut, 8, 306, 

Constantine, 236, 268, 270, 271. 

Constantinople, 270, 273, 277, 278. 

Contentment, 223, 224. 

Conversion, True, 119. 

Convocation, 297. 

Cornwall, 155. 

Coronation Chair, 303. 

Courage, 72-81, 103-110. 

Covetousness, 223-226. 

Cranes, 333. 

Cranmer, 298. 

Creation, 88-94. 

Crecy, 343. 

Creed, 82-88, 92. 

Crimea, 148. 

Crispin, S., 195. 

" Crop, One," 34. 

Cross, 107, 108, 269. 

Cuba, 100. 

Cuthbert, S., 138, 241, 293. 
Cyprian, 267. 
Czar, 25, 76. 

Damascus, 4. 
Dante, 141. 
Day, Last, 9. 
Dead Sea, 57, 198. 



" Dead while he Liveth," 60, 121. 

Deaf Man Heard, What a, 216. 

Death, 129-133, 140, 174. 

Decision, Need of, 77. 

Delay, Danger of, 75. 

De Long, 91. 

Devil, 50-54. 

Dial, 152. 

Dice, Loaded, 89. 

Died for us, 103-110. 

Diocletian, 84, 257, 281. 

Diogenes, 129. 

Disappointment, No, 146. 

Disobedience, 187, 188, 190. 

Divorce, 204. 

Doane, Bp,, 316. 

Dockyard, 40. 

Domitian, 262. 

Door, Ever Open, 336. 

Dora, Sister, 3, 20. 

Douglas, Stephen A., 208. 

" Doves to their Windows," 351. 

Drummer, 34. 

Diirer, 116. 

Durham, 292. 

Duty before Pleasure, 69, 168. 

Eagle, 99, 204, 
"Early Celebration," 349. 
Early Training, 34, 35. 
Easter, 286, 
Eddystone, 357, 
Edward L, 248, 303. 
Edward III., 343. 
Edward VI., 297. 
Electricity, 48,157, 230, 348. 
Eliot, George, 222. 
Elizabeth of Hungary, 331. 
Emigravit, 116. 



366 



INDEX. 



Engine, 165. 

England, Bank of, 8. 

England, Church of, 176, 281-298. 

Ephesus, 261. 

Episcopacy, 264, 

Escurial, 268. 

Eternity, 143-149. 

Ethelbert, 284. 

Eton College, 35, 74, 79. 

Eucharist, 343-345. 

Eve, 123. 

Examples, Bad, 253. 
Eye of Christ, 3, 167. 

" Faithful unto Death," 31, 33, 86. 

Faith in God, 90, 93, 94. 

Faith, The, 82-87. 

Falk, 25. 

Faraday, 125. 

Farrar, Dean, 73, 74. 

Father, God the, 88-94. 

Fear of God, 168. 

Feast of Lights, 2. 

Finnian, S., 301. 

Fire, 151, 154, 231, 236. 

First-fruits, 114. 

Fiji, 320. 

Flag, 160. 

Flesh, Renouncing the, 65-71. 

Flies Stopping Train, 66. 

" Fling your Heart over," 78. 

Florida, 46. 

Florence, 141. 

Flowers, 325. 

Fool, 148. 

Forgiveness, 248, 249, 250, 336- 
339- 

" Fountain of Life," 44. 
Fox, 129. 



France, 265. 

Frederick the Great, 337. 
French Revolution, 52. 
Frere, Sir Bartle, 188. 
Funeral, 131. 

Galiani, 89. 
Gartin, 301. 
Gate, One, 356. 
Gaul, 265. 

Gaussen, Professor, 112. 
Gautama, 127. 
Genseric, 277. 

Gentleman, True, 23, 191, 192. 
Germanus, 282, 300. 
Gettysburg, 139. 
Gibbon, 131, 
Gideon, 76. 

" Gift of God, The," 47. 

Gladiators, 5. 

Gloria^ 271. 

Glory, 168. 

Goats, 24. 

" God's Acre," 114. 

" God's Arms," 241. 

God's Will, 244. 

Gold, Mottoes about, 62. 

Gordon, General, i. 

Gossips, 221. 

Gotthold, 79. 

Grafting, 19, 341. 

Grail, Holy, 360. 

Gratitude, 167. 

Great Eastern, 66. 

Gregory the Great, 277, 283, 284. 

Grimaldi, 61. 

Hampton Court, 81. 
Hannibal, 34. 



INDEX. 



Hannington, Bp., 323. 

Hanover, 114. 

Hare, Archdeacon, 105. 

Havelock, Sir Henry, 186. 

Haydn, 100. 

Heathen, 170-172, 197. 

Heathen Belief, 122, 126. 

Heathen Morals, 320. 

Heaven, 134-149, 166. 

Hemans, 132. 

Hell, 141, 146, 147. 

Henry II., 103. 

Henry VIII., 177. 

Henry of Navarre, 135. 

Herbert, George, 98, 139, 183, 216. 

Heresy, 84. 

Herod, 174. 

Heroism, 72-81, 103-110. 

Highland Brigade, 14. 

Hill, Rowland, 53. 

Hippo, 276. 

Holy Ghost, 150-158, 

Holy Island, see Lindisfarne. 

" Holes still there," 67. 

Home, 140, 335. 

Honest Sandy, 210. 

Honesty, 206-211. 

Hood, 197. 

Humility, 23, 25, 136. 
Hunt, Rev. Robert, 303. 

Ich Dien, 4. 

Idolatry, 170, 171. 

" If I were only Rich," 58. 

Ignatius, S., 17, 263, 264. 

Illinois, 208. 

Immortality, 146. 

India, ig, 198, 329. 

Indian Mutiny, 73, 80, 135, 186. 



Indian Soldier, 12. 
Innocent III., 294. 
Intercession, 138, 139, 345. 
" Invincibles," 316. 
lona, 286, 290, 302. 
Irish Church, 289, 290, 299. 
Ivry, 135. 

Jamestown, 303. 

Japan, 181. 

Jason, 69. 

Jerome, S., 275. 

Jerusalem, 260. 

Jesus, 96-110, 272. 

John, King, 294. 

John, S., 261, 262, 263. 

Johnson, Dr. Samuel, 190. 

Jonson, Ben, 105. 

Joseph of Arimathea, S., 360. 

Judgment, Last, 8-11, 123. 

Judgment, Present, 10. 

Kaffir, 337. 

Keble, 132. 

Kentucky, 314. 

Khartoum, i. 

Kildare, 154, 

Kindness, Power of, 195. 

Kingdom of Heaven, 41, 42. 

Kneeling, 172, 236. 

Ladder, Christ the, 26. 
Laud, Archbp., 338. 
Langton, Archbp,, 294. 
Lanman, 182. 
Lark, 230, 

Lawrence, Lord, 168, 207. 
Lawrence, S., 267, 
Lawrence, Sir Henry, 73, 135. 



368 



INDEX. 



Lazarus, 127. 

" Leading Straight," 14. 

" Lead Thou me on," 57. 

Lee, General, 110, 189. 

Leighton, Archbp., 131. 

Lent, Motto for, 76. 

Leonidas, 107. 

Lepers, 332. 

Liberius, Pope, 272. 

" Liberty to Captives," 114, 120. 

Life in Christ, 44, 11 8-1 27, 143- 

T49, 153, 155. 
" Light Brigade," Charge of, 100. 
Lighthouse, 82. 

"Light of the World," 19, 21, 38, 

40, 155. 
Liudhard, 285. 
Lindisfarne, 290, 291, 355. 
Linnet, 344. 

" Little Sins," 66, 165, 166, 199, 

202, 203, 204, 209, 210. 
Loadstone, 254, 348. 
Longfellow, 11, 62. 
Looking Downwards, 57. 
*' Look up," 134, 135, 138, 139. 
" Lord, Our," 99. 
Lord's Prayer, 233. 
Louis XIL, 249. 
Love, 96-110, 167, 172, 194-200. 
Lowell, 77. 

Lucknow, 73, 80, 135. 
Lukman, 145. 
Lyell, Sir Charles, 9. 
Lying, 213-222. 
Lyons, 265. 

Lytton, Sir Bulwer, 196. 

Macarius, 18, 
Madagascar, 21. 



Magna Ckarta, 294. 

Magnet, 348. 

Magnificat^ 63, 234. 

Mahometan Mosque, 4. 

Maine, 305. 

Manchester, 48. 

" Man Overboard," 19. 

"Marks of the Lord Jesus," 15, 106. 

Marsden, Samuel, 329. 

Martin, S., 53. 

Martyn, Henry, 322, 329. 

Martyrs, 148, 265, 281. 

Maiado7\ 61. 

Maxentius, 268. 

Maximian, 86. 

Medicine of Sacraments, 45, 47. 

Melrose, 175. 

Members of Christ, 17-22. 

Memorial in Eucharist, 343-345. 

Methodists, 311. 

Metz, 104. 

Michigan, 83. 

Midas, 60. 

Milan, 276. 

Military Priests, 310. 

Milnor, Dr., 33. 

Mirage, 56. 

Miserere, 100. 

Missionary Box, 207. 

Missions, 319-329. 

Modena, 199. 

Moffatt, Dr., 126. 

Moltke, von, 6. 

" Money, Without," 46. 

Monhegan, 304. 

Monica, 126, 276. 

Monier-Williams, 326. 

Monitor, 93. 

Monkeys, 253. 



INDEX. 



369 



Mont Blanc, 350. 
Montgomery, 133, 139, 236. 
More, Hannah, 221. 
Moscow, 198. 
Moses, 108, 197. 
Mother, 190, 191, 213, 240. 
Mount Vernon, 183, 192. 
Mouse and Missions, 327. 
Moville, 301. 

"Much Speaking," 216, 222. 
Murder, 171, 196. 
Mutiny, Indian, 73, 80, 135, 186. 
Mystery, 45, 159-162. 

Nain, Widow of, 127. 
Name, Bowing at the, 176, 178, 
272. 

Name, Christian, 12-15, 331- 
Napier, Sir Charles, 31. 
Napoleon, 35, 38, 79, 89, 92, 146, 

168, 198, 320, 349, 351. 
Neale, Dr., 6g, 245. 
Neighbour, Love of, 194-200. 
Nelson, 15. 
Nero, 21, 257. 
Net, 134. 
New England, 8. 
Newton, Sir I., 92. 
New Zealand, 156, 329. 
Niagara, 53. 

Nice or Nicsea, 270, 271. 
Nile, 190. 

Noblesse Oblige, 18. 
"No Man Liveth to Himself," 
334- 

Norman Conquest, 296. 
Norsemen, 278. 

Northumbria, 138, 289, 290, 291, 
355. 

24 



" Not Afraid," 240. 
Nova Scotia, 254. 

Oath not Needed, 215. 

Obedience, 100, 164-168, 186-192. 

" Oil on the Waters," 195. 

Olaf, King, 278. 

Omission, Sins of, 53. 

Omniscience, God's, 91, 94, 167. 

" Only one Sin," 166, 224. 

" Onward and Upward," 139. 

Orders, Holy, 313. 

Oriental Church, 2. 

Oswald, King, 290. 

Oubliettes, 52. 

" Our Father," 243. 

Painting for Eternity, 145. 
Palladius, 300. 
Palm, 44, 86, 152. 
Pancras, S., 84. 

Paradise, 123, 132, 133, 141, 331, 

332, 358. 
Parliament, 295. 
Parrots, 252. 
"Paths, Two," 72. 
Patience with Heretics, 315. 
Patmos, 262, 263. 
Patrick, S., 161, 299. 
Patteson, Bp., 201, 329. 
Paul, S., 258. 

Paul's Cathedral, S., 89, 124, 152. 
Pearl-fisher, 59. 

"Pedigree, Church with a," 314. 
Penitence, 356, 358, 360. 
Pennsylvania, 208. 
Pericles, 164. 
Persecutors, 174. 
Perseverance, 31, 230. 



370 



INDEX, 



Perth, 303. 

Peter, S., 73, 258. 

Peter the Great, 25, 221. 

Petrarch, 215. 

Phidias, 167. 

Philip Neri, S., 352. 

" Picking," 208. 

Picts, 282. 

Pigs, 53. 

Pipes, 47. 

Pliny, 259. 

Plymouth, 23. 

Pockets, 57. 

Pointsman, 186. 

Politeness, 23, 188, 191, 192. 

Polycarp, S., i, 264. 

Pompeii, 29, 61, 203. 

Poor, Christ in, 25. 

Pope, 272, 277, 296. 

Popham, 304. 

Pothinus, 265. 

Pottery, 13. 

Prayer, 227-242. 

Prayer Answered, 232, 235, 239. 

Prayer Book, 139. 

Prayer, Reverence in, 172. 

Prayers, Answering one's own, 325. 

Prayers of Heathen, 171. 

Pride in Poverty, 59. 

Providence, 92. 

Prussia, King of, 42. 

Puritans, 306. 

Purity, 201, 205. 

Queen of England, 21. 
Quinine, 46. 

Rabbits, 199. 

Rain on the Roof, 73. 



Raleigh, SirW., 130. 
Raphael, 136, 
Ready, 6. 

Reformation, 296, 297. 
Refuge, Christ our, 355. 
Regulus, 214. 
Religions, 326. 
Repentance, 356, 358, 360. 
Repudiation, 208. 
Resurrection, 1 12-127. 
" Retreat, No," 34. 
Reverence, 172, 176. 
Richelieu, 11. 
Riches, 12, 60. 

Richmond, Rev. James, 36, 313. 

Ring, 68, 150. 

Roanoke, 303. 

" Robbing God," 184. 

Rock, Clinging to the, 97. 

Roman Citizen, 41. 

Roman Sentinel, 29. 

Rome, 76, 132, 214, 257, 258, 262-' 

267, 272, 275, 277, 283, 295. 
Root-extractor, 225. 
Ropes, Queen's, 83. 
Runnymede, 294. 
Rushlight, 40. 
Russian Boy's Prayer, 232. 
Russian Church, 115, 277, 278. 

Sabbath, 180-185. 
Sacraments, 44-48. 
Sacrifice, 107. 
Sacrilege, 174, 177. 
Sahara, 156. 
Sailor, 3. 
Saladin, 131. 
Satan, see Devil. 
Saviour, 96-101, 118-127. 



INDEX. 



371 



Scandal, 215. 

Scarlet, Sins as," 340. 
Scone, 302. 
Scotsman, 15. 
Scott, Sir W., 174. 
Scottish Church, 299, 301, 308. 
Scripture, 152. 
Seabury, Bp., 307. 
Secret Sins, 202, 203, 204. 
Seeing and Believing, 160. 
Self-examination, 357-359. 
Selfishness, 206, 207. 
Selwyn, Bp., 156. 
Sennacherib, 174. 
Serapis, 170. 
Serpents, 52, 108. 
Shamrock, 161. 
Shanghai, 171, 320. 
Shetlands, 26. 
Shoemaker, 195. 
Short-sightedness, 136. 
Sicily, King Robert of, 62. 
Simeon, Charles, 3. 
Sinai, 164. 

Sin against God, All, 164. 

Sin Found out, 65. 

Sins, see Secret and Litile. 

" Slander Book," 220. 

Slave, 167, 208. 

Slavs, 277. 

Smeaton, 357. 

Smedley, 120. 

Snowdrop, 123. 

Soldiers, EngHsh, 79. 

Soldiers of Christ, 21, 29-34. 

Sophia, San, 274, 278. 

Soul, Only one, 146. 

South, Dr., 218. 

Sowing for Eternity, 69, 145, 218. 



Spider, 79, 229, 253. 

Sprague, Dr., 313. 

Standard, 31. 

Stanley, 324. 

Starting Right, 73. 

Stephen, S., 135. 

" Stone of Scone," 303. 

" Stonewall " Jackson, 232. 

Sunday, 180-^185. 

" Surrender, No," 31. 

Swearing, 175, 176, 178, 252. 

Swiss, 103. 

Switchman, 186. 

Tacitus, 257. 
Talleyrand, 115. 
Talmud, 129, 197, 
Tarquin, 76. 

Taylor, Bishop Jer., 230, 250. 
Telegraph, 48, 157, 203, 229. 
Tel-el-Keber, 14. 
Telemachus, 5. 
Temper, 217. 

Temple, 144, 176, 261, 333. 
Temptation, 252-254. 
Tennyson, 100, 199, 201, 2ig. 
Theban Tegion, 86. 
Thelwall, 35. 
Theodosius, 170, 274. 
Theophorus, 17. 
Theresa, S., 73. 
Thermopylae, 107. 
Thessalonica, 275. 
Thistledown, 217. 
Titus, 260. 

Tongue, 215, 216, 218, 220, 221. 
Trajan, 259, 263. 
" Treasure is, Where your," 140. 
Trinity, 159-162. 



372 



INDEX. 



Truthfulness, 213-222. 
" Try, Can," 73. 
Turner, 196. 
Two Pictures, 78. 
Tyndall, 160. 
Tyng, Dr., 33. 

Uganda, 323, 
Unclaimed Riches, 12. 

Valerian, 267. 
Vandals, 277. 
Venice, 351. 
Verulam, 281. 
Vespasian, 260. 
Vesuvius, 29. 
Victoria, Princess, 41. 
Viking, 279. 
Vine, 17, 81. 
Violets, 70. 
Virginia, 303. 
Vladimir, 277, 278. 
Voice of God, 152, 156. 
Vulgate, 275. 

Wales, Prince and Princess of, 4, 
231. 

Washington, 12, 93, 172, 183, 192, 

218, 305, 309. 
Watching for Christ, 3, 6. 
Waterloo, 31, 35, 79, 254. 
Weasel, 204. 
Weathercock, 167. 
Wedgwood, 13. 



Wellington, 35, 75, 79, 93, 168, 188 

218, 319, 353. 
Welsh, 290. 
Wenceslas, 24. 
Wesley, Charles, 96, 311. 
Wesley, John, 311. 
Westminster Abbey, 168, 295 

303. 

" What Next?" 129. 

W^heatfield, 23. 

Whittier, 329. 

Wicklow, 300. 

Wilberforce, 166. 

Wilfrid, 291. 

Wilkinson, 124. 

William the Conqueror, 296. 

Winkelried, von, 103. 

Wires, 47. 

Witan, 295. 

Wolff, Dr., 315. 

Wolves, 99. 

Wordsworth, 93. 

World, Renouncing the, 56-64, 

Worms in Timber, 202. 

Wren, Sir C, 89, 124. 

Xavier, S. Francis, 225. 

Yale College, 307. 

" Yes" and " No," 75. 

York, 291, 308. 

Young to Die, Not too, 36. 

Zeal, 150. 



1)^ 



